Together
by Catharine Carter
Summary: Troy and Gabriella go away to their sepparate colleges. Events following High School Musical 3.
1. Hitting the Road

_We stood on stage in our mock graduation as Ms. Darbus announced scholarships and where all the seniors were going to college. After the last several months being hounded by everyone to make a decision, I finally knew what it was I had wanted to do. After looking into several different colleges, I finally decided on one and I hadn't told anyone which college I had decided on. I wasn't going to tell anyone until tonight either. Here, standing in front of practically the whole school and the community, I finally came to a conclusion and I was going to announce it. "And now, a senior," Ms. Darbus continued, looking over at us, "who I believe, has a decision to make." She held up her hand, introducing me, looking back out at the audience, "Mr. Troy Bolton." She turned back to look at me, asking me to step forward, "Troy." I stepped toward center stage after a brief moment of hesitation, all my cast mates clapping behind me, the audience clapping in front of me. I looked out among everyone in the audience, telling them shortly, "I've chosen basketball." Everyone cheered and I added, "But I've also chosen theater." Everyone in the audience jumped to their feet, cheering even louder. "University of California, Berkeley, offers me both. That's where I'm going to be attending next fall." I nodded, pleased with the decision I had made. "But most of all," I resumed my announcement, "I choose the person who inspires my heart." I smiled, nodding my head slightly. "Which is why I picked a school that's exactly 32.7," I said, turning back to Gabriella, offering her my hand, "…miles from you." I could see the tears in her eyes, and I knew they were happy tears. The emotion in her face matched that in my heart. She stepped forward, taking my hand and standing beside me. I turned out to announce her to the audience. "Miss Gabriella Montez. Stanford University." I turned back to her, looking down into her eyes. "Pre-Law." I spun her around, letting her step up and take her moment in the spotlight. "Next," Ms. Darbus called out as Gabriella walked backwards to stand back next to me, "Mr. Chad Danforth. University of Albuquerque, basketball scholarship…"_

That had been more two months ago. Gabriella and I had been doing so much over the last ten weeks, our parents hardly ever saw us, but we were busy setting up for moving away to college. That's what this last trip was, heading out there to find a place to live. We would both be living on the campuses. Gabriella had found a place and we had an appointment to meet with the manager of the apartments Friday morning and then we'd drive up to Berkeley and check out the campus housing while we were there. Tuesday night we were each packing as we got ready to leave tomorrow morning. I'd taken this trip once before and driven straight on the way there, stopping in Barstow, California, to sleep the first night and Gabriella and I had stopped in Flagstaff, Arizona on the way back. This time, we were going to stay in Las Vegas. It was a little out of the way, but we were planning on taking a slight detour to spend some time in Vegas. There were rides there at the different hotels that we wanted to go on. We had reservations at the Stratosphere for tomorrow and Thursday night and then on the way back, we were planning on taking the regular route and stay in Flagstaff on the way home. We'd get home on Sunday, just in time for dinner at my place. My mom was cooking and she'd invited Gabriella's mom. We'd only be here for a few more weeks and they were all telling us how much they were going to miss us already.

"Mom's already crying again, Troy," Gabriella told me over the phone as I put my clothes in my duffel bag. Her mother had cried the night of the musicale, the night of graduation, and at least every other week whenever Gabriella would talk about moving out to Palo Alto. She was excited for her in every way, but she was going to miss her, just as much as my parents were going to miss me. My parents didn't cry though, not even my mom. She'd get a little misty eyed, but she didn't cry. "She's going to miss you," I told her, like I'd told her before. "I know, I just wish she didn't have to be alone. Her job is moving her again soon, up to Seattle. She'll be up there near my sister Carmen, but that's not for more than two months after I'm gone." I felt bad for her. I knew she was close to her mother, just as close as I was to my parents, or closer, so I knew how much she was going to miss her mother. "She'll be closer to you too out there. One day's trip if we leave early enough," I told her, grabbing some socks out of my drawer to finish packing my bag.

"You're right, Troy. Thank you," I heard her smile even though I couldn't see it. "For what?" I asked sitting down on the bed, cradling my phone on my shoulder and pulling my bag on my lap so I could zip it up. "For making me feel better." I was glad I could. I just wanted her to be happy above everything else. "You're welcome," I spoke softly, tossing my bag off the side of the bed, laying down, looking up at the ceiling as I took the phone back in my hand, laying my other hand on my chest. "You about ready to go, Gabs?" I asked, knowing she had been packing even longer than I was. "I just finished," I heard her grunt through the phone, pretty sure she'd just picked up her suitcase and sat it down off the bed. "Good," I said, closing my eyes. "I just finished too. I'm looking forward to Wednesday. I've never been to Las Vegas." I had told her before, but I was excited. "You'll love it," she told me. "We're going to have a lot of fun."

I smiled, yawning. "We should probably get some sleep," I suggested. "We've got a long drive ahead of us. We'll stop in Flagstaff for a late lunch and then have dinner when we get to Vegas. Any place you want to eat when we get there?" She was silent for a moment before answering, "I was thinking we could stop in at one of my old friend's house, but I don't have her number anymore and I'm not sure if she even lives there anymore." I opened my eyes, standing up off the bed and walking around to get some new boxers out of the top drawer. "We could always drive by anyway, some time on Wednesday so it's not too late tomorrow when we get there." I wanted to know all about Gabriella, more than I already did, and that included her past. She had lived in Las Vegas for almost a year when she was 14 and I'm sure she'd love to stop by and see some of her old friends, if they were still there. "That sounds great, Troy! I'd love that!" I walked across the hall and to the bathroom, turning on the light. "Good. I'm going to hop in the shower," I told her, undoing my belt buckle, pulling my belt undone with one hand. "I'll call you in the morning when I leave the house," I told her, undoing my pants and kicking them off. "Alright. I'll be ready. Good night, Troy. I love you." I smiled, leaning against the bathroom counter. "I love you, Gabs," I repeated, smiling, looking like a love-sick fool in the mirror, but I didn't care. I loved her and that's all that mattered. "Good night." I hung up the phone and took my shower quickly before heading to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and I needed my rest.

I woke up the next morning at six, just like I had every morning for school so we could hit the highway by seven. I got dressed and grabbed my bag, tossing it on my shoulder before heading downstairs. Dad was sitting at the breakfast table already reading the newspaper and Mom was cooking breakfast at the stove. I hung my bag on the back of my seat before sitting down beside my dad. "Morning." Dad folded his newspaper, placing it on the table. "You ready for your trip?" I nodded, sitting back in my seat. "I gassed up the truck last night and made sure I had it tuned up Saturday. Gabriella and I mapped out our trip last week and she'll be an excellent navigator." Mom came up behind me placing my plate down in front of me and Dad's down in front of him. "Should we give him his present now?" Mom asked Dad as she picked up her plate and sat it down at her place at the table. Dad looked at me and then up at Mom, nodding. "Now's good." Mom walked across the kitchen, grabbing a gift bag off the counter before coming back over to the table, handing it over to me. I looked down at the bag and back at my mom and over to my Dad. "What's this?" Dad laughed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "Just open it."

I pulled the tissue out of the bag, balling it up and placing it on the table. Reaching back in the bag, I pulled out the gift. "A GPS?" I looked between the both of them before turning it on, putting the bag on the middle of the table by the balled up tissue paper. "Your father set it up for you lat night," Mom told me as I waited for it to search for a signal, which didn't take long. "It's got your destination plugged into it already with Las Vegas as your via point for tonight." I looked up at my mom. "Thanks, Mom." I turned to my dad, nodding at him. "Thanks, Dad." He nodded back, saying, "Maps are good, but this is a whole lot better. It's got a function where it can talk to you in 6 different languages, male or female. It's also an .mp3 player, so if you wanted to load any songs onto it later, you could do that. I think it even plays video." I looked back at the system, smiling brightly. "Thanks, you guys! This is awesome!" Mom sat down at her place at the table and after a moment, I turned it off and slipped it in my bag, turning back to them. "Seriously, you guys! Thank you." Dad patted my back, looking over at my mom. "Just do us a favor and don't get lost now." I laughed, shaking my head. "I won't, Dad."

* * *

I woke up to my alarm at 5:30, turning it off and walking across the hall to take a shower. I shaved and washed my hair before putting on moisturizer and getting out of the shower. Drying myself off, I picked up my brush, running it through my hair before starting to braid it. If we were going to be in the car all day long, I wasn't going to want to be playing with my hair or having to put it up in a ponytail later on. I walked across the hall and back into my room, shutting the door to get dressed. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of panties and a bra, laying them on the bed. I pulled my lavender and vanilla lotion out of my bag beside my suitcase, sitting back on the bed. I applied the lotion all over my body before sliding on my panties and putting on my bra. I stood up, walking over to my dresser again, pulling out a pair of white Capri pants and a green rosette jersey top with a white belt sown on to it. Walking into the closet, I pulled out a pair of white sandals, walking back over to the bed and sliding each of them on, buckling them around the ankle. Standing up, I smoothed down my pants before picking up purse, my essentials bag and grabbing the handle on my suitcase, pulling it out of my room and down the stairs.

I left my bags by the door, hanging my purse on the door handle before walking into the kitchen where Mom had homemade waffles ready and waiting with strawberries and whip cream. I smiled at her, sitting down at the counter where she was placing a waffle on a plate for me, sliding the strawberries and the can of cool whip closer to me. "Thanks, Mom," I spoke softly, picking up the spoon in the strawberries, scooping up some onto my waffle. I placed the spoon back in the strawberries, sliding them over by my mom. I picked up the can of cool whip, spraying some around on my waffle before handing it to my mom as well. She wasn't saying anything. I was sure the reason she wasn't was because I knew she'd start crying yet again. "I'm only going to be gone five days, Mom," I told her, turning to her. She stopped scooping her strawberries, returning the spoon to the bowl, placing her hands in her lap. She took a deep breath and I knew she was trying not to cry. I placed my hand on hers, giving them a slight squeeze. "Troy and I will be safe, I promise you," I added, swallowing softly. This was going to be hard on me too, but I had to stay strong for her. She looked up at me, the tears glistening in her eyes, threatening to fall. "I know, Mija," she whispered. "You'll call me every day, right?" I smiled, rubbing y thumb over one of her hands. "I promise." She smiled, nodding, pulling her hands from mine. "Eat. Troy will be here soon."

We ate our breakfast and I helped her with the dishes before drying my hands off and turning to her. I pulled her into my arms, hugging her gently. "I love you, Mom," I whispered softly, holding her close. I rubbed her back and smiled softly at her. "I love you, Gabriella." We stood, staring at each other, both of us about to cry before hearing a knock at the door. Mom stood back, taking my hand. "There's your boy. Time to go." I smiled, laughing slightly as she pulled me to the entryway, opening the door. "Mrs. Montez," he greeted my mom formally, with a nod of his head before turning to me. "Ready to go?" I smiled, pulling out my suitcase to him. "Ready!" He leaned down, picking it up. "I'll take this out to the truck," he said, turning out to take my suitcase out. I picked up my other bag and my purse off the door handle, turning to my mom. "Did you want to walk me out?" She looked out the door at Troy and then back at me. "That's ok, Mija." I wrapped my arms around her, kissing her cheek softly before stepping back. "I'll call you when we get to Vegas." Mom kissed my cheek back and stood back, wrapping her arms over her breasts. "Be safe." I smiled, nodding softly. "We will, Mom." I turned to walk out the door, walking down the sidewalk to Troy's truck. He opened the passenger door for me, taking my hand as I slide in. "Thank you," I said, smiling brightly at him. He nodded, winking at me. "You're welcome." He turned back, waving at my mom who was standing at the doorway. I waved at Mom as Troy ran around the truck and got in his side before starting the engine and pulling down the road.

* * *

I held Gabriella softly against my side as she slept against my chest. We were just getting to Boulder City after exiting from state highway 93 onto 2-15 which connected to I-15 which we'd be taking into California. It was just after eight o'clock which meant we wouldn't be getting down to the strip and to the stratosphere until close to nine. Most restaurants would be closed, but there was café in the hotel we could eat at in the casino lobby. We had checked out the website of the hotel while we were making reservations and knew there was Roxy's Diner that was open 24 hours. I looked down at Gabriella briefly before turning my eyes back to the road. Deciding to go to Berkeley was the best decision I could have ever made. I loved Gabriella and I didn't want to be away from her. I exited the freeway at the boulevard that lead to the strip, rubbing Gabriella's side. I started singing softly, just because, "I've never had someone that knows me like you do, the way you do. I've never had someone as good for me as you, no one like you. So lonely before I finally found," I kissed the top of her head, smiling softly, "what I've been looking for. So good to be seen, so good to be heard." I smiled, shaking my head. "Don't have to say a word. For so long I was lost, so good to be found. I'm loving having you around. This feelings like no other. I want you to know. I leaned my head to the side, watching her sleep, "I've never had some one that knows me like you do, the way you do." Running my fingers through her hair, I looked back up at the road as the light turned green. "I've never had someone as good for me as you, no one like you. So lonely before finally found," I rubbed my chin over the top of her head softly, smiling more, "what I've been looking for."

The Stratosphere was at the head of the Strip, but we would drive down it tomorrow night. Tonight, we'd just spend the night in the hotel room and maybe watch a movie until we fell asleep. I pulled into the parking structure, parking the truck before kissing the top of her head. "We're here, Gabs." She moved more against me, wrapping her arm more around my stomach. "Not yet. I'm comfortable." I smiled, rubbing her back softly. "If we didn't have luggage, I'd carry you in," I whispered at the top of her head. She turned her head up slowly to me, smiling sleepily. "I can walk," she yawned, sitting up straight. I got out of the truck, helping her out after she grabbed her bag, pulling it over her shoulder. I shut the door and got our bags out of the back of the truck, throwing mine over my shoulder and holding hers in one hand as I wrapped my arm around her waist, walking into the casino lobby. Checking in took a little less than five minutes before we took the elevator up to the floor our room was on. I opened the door, holding it open so she could walk in. I walked in behind her, laying her suitcase down on the suitcase holder after she set it up. "Thank you, Wildcat." I kissed the side of her head, dropping my bag on the chair by the table, turning back to her. "Wanna go back downstairs and eat or get room service?" She dropped her purse on the bed and turned around. "We can go down to the diner. I just need to freshen up." I smiled, turning around myself and walking to the window, pulling back the curtain. We had a really nice view of the rooftop pool from our room. It would be nice to take a late night swim, but by the time we were done eating, the pool would be closed. "Already to go." I heard Gabriella say and I turned around to see her, putting her bag down and picking up her purse.

I walked over to her, wrapping my arm around her waist as we left the room to go downstairs to eat. Gabriella ordered the blackened salmon filet and I ordered a mac and stew meal. We ate, talking about what we were going to do tomorrow. When we were finished eating, I paid for our meals before heading back upstairs with her. She used the restroom to change into her pajamas, a tank top and long shorts, while I changed into my pajamas, ball shorts and a T-shirt. We turned off the light and climbed into bed, turning on the TV. Multiplicity, a comedy about cloning staring Michael Keaton and Andie MacDowell. We weren't really paying attention as we laid there. She laid against my side, her head on my chest and my arm wrapped around her. I heard her yawn as she moved her hand slowly on my chest. "I'm so tired, Troy." I held her closer to me, kissing the top of her head. I turned on the sleep timer on the TV for twenty minutes. I knew both of us would be asleep before that twenty minutes. "Good night, Gabriella," I whispered as I closed my eyes, getting more comfortable with her. "I love you, Wildcat." I smiled, hugging her more to me, kissing the top of her head again before singing softly, "This feelings like no other. I want you to know, I've never had some one that knows me like you do, the way you do. And I've never had someone as good for me as you, no one like you. So lonely before I finally found," I yawned, getting closer to sleep, "what I've been looking for."


	2. Viva Las Vegas

I awoke the next morning exceptionally refreshed. This was only the second time I'd slept in Troy's arms, the first time had been when he had gone up to Stanford to bring me back to Albuquerque for graduation. We had stayed in Flagstaff, Arizona, in a Holiday Inn Express. I had never slept more contently than that night before then, and last night I had slept just as contently. But I was more than content. Laying in Troy's arms was the happiest I'd ever been. He made me happier than I'd ever been, and being able to stay with him throughout the rest of my junior year and through my senior year, I knew that was the reason why Troy and I were so close. He was the closest person I'd ever been to. Not even Taylor and I were as close as Troy and I were. I loved Taylor. She was my best friend, but sometimes I felt that I couldn't tell her things. She was so opinionated. But that's what I loved about her. I knew there were times I felt I couldn't tell Troy things I was feeling, things that were happening, but every time I had felt like that, Troy had made me see that I didn't have to. He was the most understanding person I'd ever known. There were so many reasons I was in love with him, and I was so grateful for him.

I looked up at Troy, laying so close to him, his face was mere inches from mine. I smiled, lifting my hand, softly brushing my fingertips over his lips. They twitched slightly and I pulled my fingers from them before running my fingers through his hair. His eyes slowly opened and I smiled softly at him. "Good morning, Wildcat." He smiled back at me, closing his eyes again as he pulled me closer to him. "A guy could get used to this." I giggled softly, resting my head against his chest. "Did you sleep well?" he asked me, kissing the top of my head. I smiled, letting my fingers run lightly over his chest. "Perfectly." I looked up at him, smiling softly at him. "You?" He nodded, tucking my hair behind my ear. I hadn't unbraided my hair from yesterday, but more strands had fallen out while I slept. "Perfectly," he repeated my answer. I smiled more at him, leaning closer to him and pressing my lips against his. I pulled back, looking at the time on the clock. 9 a.m. I never slept this late. I guess it must be because I had only ever slept in Troy's arms once, and we set the alarm to wake us up that time. I had been so peaceful throughout the night. I hadn't even woken up once.

"We should get our day started, Troy." He tightened his hold on me, shaking his head. "Can't we just enjoy this a little longer?" I laughed, shaking my head. "Come on, Troy. There's a lot to do and only a day to do it in." He laughed with me, kissing the top of my head. "Ok, what do you want to do first?" he asked and I shook my head. "Uh-uh. Nope. This is your first time here. What do YOU want to do first?" He thought about it for a moment before answering excitedly. "The M&M World!" I laughed more, shaking my head. "You are crazy, Wildcat!" He laughed, nodding his head. "I know! Don't you love it?" I laughed, sitting up and sliding off the bed. "I'm going to take a shower. You can think about where you want to have breakfast while I'm gone." I grabbed my bag, pulling it into the bathroom with me and shutting the door behind me. I showered quickly, but not so quickly as to mess up my regular routine. I washed my hair and my body before putting my moisturizer on and turning off the water. Stepping out, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my body. I stepped over to the door and opened it just a sliver so the room could dehumidify.

* * *

The door opened to the bathroom and I looked in the reflection of the mirror on the closet door beside the front door across from the bathroom to see her walk out, ready to go, but the door was only open a crack. "I'll be out in a minute, Troy. I just need to get dressed," she told me and I relaxed back against the bed. "Take your time, baby," I said, closing my eyes, smiling. "I'm in no rush." With my eyes closed, I went back to imagining what I had been thinking about before the door opened. I knew I shouldn't, but I was thinking about Gabriella in the bathroom as she showered. Now that she was out, I was picturing her in her towel. I had to stop thinking about her like this. We had never had sex, we rarely made out. The most we did most often was kiss, sometimes heatedly and passionately, but that didn't mean I didn't want more. But I never going to pressure her or push her farther than she was willing to go. We'd never even talked about it. When we made out, one of us would pull away when it got too intense for one of us. I've had my share of dreams about her, but nothing compared to actually touching her and every time I did, it was completely chaste. Even when we made out, I never touched her anywhere too intimate. I didn't even thrust my cock against her. Sure, I'd laid beside her on our beds, kissing her intensely, but sex was never a topic of conversation. We knew we were both virgins and we were both waiting for the right time, that's as far as the conversation went. I'm sure we'd have to have it sooner or later, the conversation, but it wasn't something that really bothered either of us. It was just something we knew we would do when the time was right and it hadn't come yet.

I was patient and Gabriella was … innocent. It's not that I didn't think she didn't think about it. She was a young adult just like myself. She had hormones too. I'm sure when we were making out, she thought about it, even if she didn't, I knew subconsciously it was at the back of her mind when we made out and we were both getting turned on. I knew because, there were times she pulled away just as frustrated as I was, sexually. But it wasn't a problem. We knew that things would happen when they did. Actually, the more I thought about it, the more I figured we should probably talk about it. But it wasn't something I could just bring up. I couldn't say, "Gabriella, I think we should talk about sex." Nope. That would mean I was pressuring her for it, which I wasn't. I was just as content to wait as she was, but we'd never actually discussed how long we wanted to wait or until when. I would find a way to bring it up, most likely the next time we made out or something. Shrugging it off, I looked up as she came out of the bathroom, dressed in blue cut off shorts and a white tank top. She had her hair braided back again and I smiled up at her. She looked stunning. I stood, walking over to her, taking her hand and pressing a soft kiss to the top of it. "I'll be out soon," I told her, grabbing my bag and walking to the shower. I didn't bother closing the door all the way. If Gabriella needed the bathroom for any reason, she should be able to get in.

I quickly showered and got dressed in the bathroom before coming back out. She was putting her suitcase away in the closet. "Here, lemme help you," I told her, taking the bag from her and putting it up on the shelf before throwing my bag up on top of it. "You ready to go?" I asked, turning back to her. I wore a pair of jean shorts and a blue T-Shirt. We were both ready to go out and have fun in the City of Sin. Not that we would be doing anything but having fun with all the rides and buffets and all that good, clean, wholesome stuff. I grabbed my wallet and keys and sunglasses from the dresser top and turned to take her hand. "Buffet for breakfast. I called down and they serve until eleven and then they bring out lunch, so we'll still have about a half an hour when we get down there. And maybe, we'll even get lunch if we're down there long enough." I laughed, leading her out the door and she shook her head at me. We ate in the buffet in the casino. It was really good. I had pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, ham and a donut. Gabriella had Belgian waffles with strawberries and whip cream, even though she had told me her mom had made her the exact same thing yesterday. I knew they were her favorite, so I wasn't going to say anything about it. I wouldn't anyway. I loved watching her eat it. She was so content with every bite. Why would I ruin something so perfect?

Our first stop of the day was the rides on top of the Stratosphere. They had four rides up on top at the needle: SkyJump, X-Scream, Insanity and Big Shot. You had to take the elevator up the long tower to reach the top, and the only way you could get on the elevator was if you bought tickets for the rides. The Big Shot was probably my favorite. You sit in this harness and it shoots you up to the top of the needle, then it drops you back down and you shoot back up again. It was definitely a blast! Gabriella's favorite ride was Insanity. She loved the view of the Strip as we hung over the edge of the tower. After we rode all the rides on the tower, we headed down the boulevard to the next hotel on the Strip. The casino itself had a rollercoaster that wrapped around the building. They called it Speed. It travels forward at a top speed of 70 miles per hour and after traveling up to the top of the track, it goes in reverse throughout the rest of the ride. It was awesome! Circus Circus was the next stop down the boulevard. They had an entire theme park in a dome in the back of the casino. It was probably the most kid friendly place in the whole city. They also had circus acts upstairs in the casino rotunda area of in the center surrounded by the arcade. We spent a few hours there before deciding to head on down the Strip to New York, New York. There was one ride there, and it was basically a taxi cab that traveled out and around the hotel and casino that was set up to look like the city of New York. It was really cool. We had passed a casino on the way called Treasure Island and they had two pirate ships out front. The electronic display board on the casino sign showed that they had shows nightly with the boats and pirates. Gabriella said we HAD to come back to this. She had gone when she was younger and she absolutely loved it. Hey, who wouldn't love Pirates, I said.

* * *

After riding rides, it was almost four in the afternoon and we decided to get lunch. We had eaten so much for breakfast we weren't really in the mood for another buffet, so we found a little Chinese restaurant off the strip and sat down for a quiet meal. He had ordered Beef and Broccoli and I ordered Peking Duck. "We can go see if your friend still lives here in town now, baby," Troy suggested as we finished eating, and I nodded. "I would love that! I haven't seen Danica in years! I hope she's still there." Troy reached across the table taking my hand. I smiled over at him, standing up. "I'm done. You ready?" He nodded, standing as well. He pulled out his wallet and left the tip on the table before taking the check and walking up to the cash register. He paid and we left, his arm wrapped around my waist as we walked out to the truck. Opening his side of the vehicle, he lifted me from around the waist and up into the truck. "Thank you," I said, sliding over into the middle. Usually I sat on the other side, but that was when he helped me up into that side. Sitting in the middle beside him would be nice for a change. I pulled on the middle belt and smiled over at him after he climbed in and fastened his belt. "How do we get there?" He asked, and I looked up at him, pointing to the left of the parking lot as we sat at the exit. "Turn left." Troy pulled out into the media before pulling onto Flamingo Road and heading East. "So do I get to see where you lived too?" Troy asked and I smiled up at him, catching his smile before he looked back over at the road. "Yes," I smiled, leaning my head against Troy's shoulder.

I hadn't lived here for that long, but I had loved living here, unlike some of the places I lived. Danica had been my best friend. She lived right down the way from me but we had gotten as close as I had let anyone in when I had lived elsewhere from Albuquerque, almost. We had stayed in touch briefly over the years, mostly on FaceBook, but still. I told Troy to turn left onto Eastern Avenue before telling him to turn right onto Viking Road a block later. "It's just three more blocks," I told him, undoing the clasps of my bag before reaching in and pulling out my compact, looking in the mirror. I still looked good despite all the rides we had gone on today. I put the compact away and fastened my bag again, pulling the strap over my shoulder. "Turn right here on Royal Viking Way," I told him just before he turned down the road. I laughed slightly. "We were one of only two houses on the block that didn't have a pool," I told him, pointing to the second house on the block. It wasn't the smallest house, but it was one of the smaller ones. Troy drove by slowly, looking around the house. "No balcony," he remarked. "No wonder you moved away." I giggled, slapping his arm playfully. "What? No pool and no balcony? I'd be gone." I shook my head laughing as we came down the block more. "Danica had the biggest house," I told him and Troy continued to laugh and I pointed to the house near the end of the circle. "That's the one," I told him and he pulled up in front of it, turning off the engine. "Ready?" he asked, opening the door and hopping out. I let him help me down and I took his hand leading him to the front door. I rang the doorbell, holding his arm close to me. "I hope she still lives here," I told him, waiting for the door to open.

A few moments later, the door opened and Danica was standing on the other side. She looked at Troy a little confused and then over at me. "Gabby!" she screamed, holding her arms out and I screamed back, stepping into her hug. "Dani!" We hugged tightly for a moment before I stepped back, still smiling brightly. "What are you doing here? Who's this?" she asked, looking over at Troy. I smiled up at Troy, taking his hand back in mine, and looking back at Danica. "This is Troy. I think I told you about him on FaceBook." Danica looked him over before smiling even brighter back at me. "He's much cuter in person!" We giggled and she looked over at Troy again. "The picture she has on her page does you no justice, Troy." She held out her hand to him and I introduced them, "Danica, this is Troy Bolton. Troy, this is Danica Montenegro." They shook hands and Troy nodded, "It's nice to meet you, Danica" Danica shook her head, smiling up at him. "You can call me Dani! Come in, come in!" she told us, stepping back. I led Troy inside and Danica shut the door behind us, leading us into the living room. "I just got back from finalizing all my classes at UNLV. Five minutes sooner and you would have missed me." She gestured to the couch and we all sat down. "So, what are you doing here, Gabby?"

I smiled over at Troy and then back to Gabby as she quickly asked, almost out of nowhere, "Oh, my God! You two aren't getting married, are you?" My eyes widened and my mouth dropped. I looked over at Troy who was trying not to laugh. I took a deep breath, turning back to Dani, smiling as I shook my head. "No, we're not getting married. Troy and I were heading up to set up housing at Stanford and Berkeley." Danica nodded, sitting back more against the arm of the couch as she sat facing us, one leg curled up under the other. "You got into Stanford! I always knew you would. Congratulations!" She said, smiling brightly. "Yeah," Troy said beside me and I turned to look at him as he told her, "We're all very proud of her."

We spent the next few hours talking to Danica before her alarm went off on her phone and she pulled it out to look at it. "Oh, snaps! I almost forgot. I have a date with David in an hour and I haven't even picked out what I'm going to wear." Troy and I both stood up. "That's ok, we should be going anyhow," I said as she stood. "Oh, I feel so bad now!" she said, wrapping her arms around me to hug me once again. "I'd invite you with, but we're meeting with his family tonight." I pulled back, looking at her, eyes wide. "Really? Are things serious?" Danica smiled brightly, nodding her head. "I think so. We've been briefly talking about marriage, but I don't know. I just graduated from high school. I don't know if I'm ready to get married so soon. If he does ask anytime soon, you an guarantee we will be having a LONG engagement!" The two of us giggled for a moment before I turned to look at Troy, smiling softly, before looking back at Danica. "Ok, we'll go so you can get ready for your date." We hugged again and she showed us to the door. "It was nice to meet you, Troy," she said as we walked down the steps and down the sidewalk toward the car. We both waved back to her before Troy helped me up into the truck and got in beside me. "Now what did you want to do?" he asked after we were back on Flamingo and heading back toward the Strip. I looked at the time and then back at him. "We could go see the pirate show, if you'd like?" He nodded, wrapping his arm around me. "Sounds great."

He parked the truck in the parking garage and helped me out. "Oh, we need to walk through the casino!" I told him. "They've got this really pretty jungle type theme inside in surrounding this restaurant. You walk over a bridge to get from one end to the other. It's GORGEOUS!" He laughed, kissing the side of my head. "Sounds great!" We walked through and Troy was actually surprised at just how much it was like an actual jungle, well, as close to any jungle that we'd ever actually seen before. We got out to the front of the casino where the show was and shuffled into the audience. "You have to stand to watch the show," I told him as we stood waiting for the show to begin. Shows began ever hour and a half with the first one starting at 7, which was the one we were waiting for that started in 15 minutes, and the last one showing at 10. As we were standing, Troy wrapped his arms around me from behind, kissing the side of my head before he started singing, "Bright light city, gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire." I giggled, looking back at him. He was loud enough for people to hear him, but I was pretty sure he didn't care. "Gotta whole lotta money that's a ready to burn, so get those stakes up higher." I giggled a little more, singing along with him. "Viva Las Vegas. Viva Las Vegas." I giggled and he stepped back from me, gesturing to me with his hands for everyone to pay attention to me. I continued to sing, shaking my head at him and blushing extremely. "How I wish that there were more than twenty-four hours in a day. Even if there were forty more, I wouldn't sleep a minute away!" I giggled as he took my hand, pulling me to him, starting to dance with me, sped-up ballroom style in the tiny space we had, singing along with me again. "Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas!" I stopped singing as he spun me around, giggling a little bit more as he continued singing. "Viva Las Vegas with your neon flashin' and your armbandits crashin all those hopes down the drain. Viva Las Vegas turn the day into night time," and I started singing along with him again, "turn the night into daytime. If you see it once, you'll never be the same agaaaain!" He pulled me into his arms, and we sang as we rocked back and forth in each others arms. "Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas! Viva … Viva… Las Vegas!" Everyone started applauding and cheering for us and I giggled, as he pressed his lips to mine, kissing me passionately for a moment before nodding and thanking everyone for their applause. "Thank you very much," he drawled in his best Elvis Presley impersonation before looking back down at me, laughing slightly. "Good job, baby! That was really good!" I giggled more, looking up at him, shaking my head slightly.

The narrator began speaking, signaling the beginning of the show, "Good evening. Glad you're here. We've been calling for you. And now that you've been summoned, a bit of song and dance awaits you, but be warned, there is also danger in the sky. For a siren's song can summon a tempest, a storm of mythical scale that even the bravest of pirates cannot escape." I pointed to a man on a tiny sailboat in the water for Troy as the narrator continued, "Listen as our voices dance on the wind, luring another this way." Troy turned, looking down at me. "Get up on my back," he said against my ear, "so you can see better." I shook my head, talking against his ear, giggling, "That's not necessary, Troy." He pulled me closer to him. "Come on. You'll get a better view." I giggled a little more as he helped me climb on his back. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, kissing the side of his head, "Thank you, Wildcat." He rubbed my legs softly, nodding his head. "Anything for my favorite girl," he said as we both continued to watch the show.

* * *

Once the show was over, we walked down the sidewalk a little way into the Mirage casino, Gabriella still on my back. She had insisted I could put her dow, but I didn't want to. "We're having too much fun," I argued, laughing and holding her legs more around me. She laughed, and I could feel her shaking her head at me, but she stayed up. She wanted to show me the white tigers at the Mirage. As we were walking by the front of the casino, the Volcano started to erupt and I looked up in amazement. "That is sooooo awesome! Why didn't you tell me it did that?" She had shown me the volcano earlier when we were driving past, but she hadn't said anything about it erupting. "I'm sorry, I think I forgot," she told me, hugging her arms more around my shoulders. "Well, that is really awesome!" We walked into the casino and followed the signs to Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. When we got there, it was closed. "Oh, I'm sorry, Troy. They are really amazing though!" I shook my head, pulling her legs more around my waist. "It's ok. We can always come back. Anytime." She laughed as we turned around to leave. "We can go in the gift shop now though," I suggested as I turned around, seeing it in front of us and walking in. "Come on. I'll buy you a tiger," I said, walking over to the stuffed animals on display, picking up a mama and a cub stuffed animal set. "Here, I'm buying you these!" She giggled, "Troy, you don't have to buy me stuffed animals!" I laughed along with her, nodding. "I want to." She laughed, agreeing. "Ok, but the baby is yours." I nodded, "Fair deal. I'll call her Gabriella." She laughed, hugging me, "And I'll call the big one Troy." I laughed, shaking my head. "I am NOT a mother tiger." She laughed even more, hugging me tighter as I walked to the register. "There's no law that says all baby parent combinations HAS to be baby/MOTHER." I laughed, nodding my head and taking out my wallet from my pants under her ass. "True, true," I laughed some more, taking out my debit card after the cashier told me the price. "Would you like a bag?" the cashier asked and I shook my head. "No, we're good to carry them." She giggled some more beside my ear as I put my card back, signing the receipt and putting my wallet back in my pocket after putting the card back in it.

We headed back to the Stratosphere, getting there just after ten o'clock. "Are you hungry?" I asked as we rode in the elevator up to our room. "We can call room service, if you'd like, or order in a pizza," she suggested and I nodded as we walked out of the elevator and down the hall the short distance to our room. "Sounds good. All the good stuff?" I asked, and she nodded back up at me. "Pepperoni, sausage, bacon, olives, mushrooms and extra cheese," she confirmed, walking in after I opened the door. She sat the stuffed animals on the table, turning back to me and wrapping her arms around my neck. "Thank you, Troy," she spoke softly, hugging me tightly against her tiny frame. "For what?" I asked, wrapping kissing her forehead softly. She smiled up at me. "For today. For taking me to see Danica. For the stuffed animals. I loved every bit of it." I shook my head, tucking some hair back behind her ear. "You don't need to thank me for that, but you're welcome." She smiled softly, taking my hand and walking me over to the closet. "Can you get my bag down?" she asked. "I'm going to change into my pajamas while you order the pizza." I nodded, letting go of her hand and reaching for both of our bags. I sat hers down on the floor beside her and tossed mine on the bed. She kissed my cheek and pulled her bag into the bathroom to get changed. I ordered the pizza from Pizza Hut and changed into my ball shorts and Wildcats T-shirt just as she was coming out of the bathroom in her same pajamas from last night. It wasn't long before our pizza arrived and we ate it while watching The Pink Panther on TV before climbing in bed to go to sleep, my arms wrapped around her just as they had been last night. We had a long day ahead of us tomorrow and we needed to get an early start. We both set our alarms on our phones so we wouldn't sleep in. I kissed the top of her head "Good night, Gabriella," I whispered in the darkness. "I love you." I felt her smile against my chest as she whispered in return, "I love you, Troy. Goodnight."


	3. On the Road Again

_I couldn't believe I was doing this. Standing in the dressing room of some rinky dink chapel in the middle of Las Vegas about to get married to Troy. It wasn't that I didn't love him enough to be doing this, but we were 18, barely out of high school and here we were about to get married. I couldn't believe it, but ever since Danica asked if we were here to get married, it was all either of us could think about. So Troy took me to the Shops at Caesar's Palace and bought me a ring at Cartier and now, here we are, in a chapel at the top of the strip near the Stratosphere. But there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be. I looked down at the dress we had picked up in the Christian Dior shop at Caesar's as well, smoothing it down over my hips. It looked good. It wasn't my usual style, but it looked really good and it fit really well. I heard a knock at the door and the matron of the chapel asked me if I was ready. _"I'll be right out," _I said as I slipped my white flip flops on and turned to open the door. She smiled down at me, telling me I looked beautiful. Smiling softly, I let her lead me into the chapel. Troy was waiting at the top of the isle. He looked great, even if he was just wearing the rented tux jacket provided by the chapel. The matron let me walk down the isle toward Troy and the officiator by myself as she sat at the organ and played the classical "Here Comes the Bride" tune. I got up to Troy and the officiator began conducting the ceremony. His words seemed to waft through the air and all I could do was stare up into Troy's amazing blue eyes. They always were so clear and pristine, but now they were even more clear and more bright. He was as happy as I was, both of us eager to be married. "You may now kiss your bride," the officiator told us before I even knew it was over. Troy stepped closer to me, wrapping his arms around me as his lips came down on mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me, kissing him deeper and deeper._

* * *

"I do," Gabriella murmured against my chest. I rubbed her back. We'd been driving for about 5 hours since we left Las Vegas early this morning. We were just about to Bakersfield, California, when I heard her speak sleepily. I turned my head slightly, pressing my lips softly against her head. "Baby…" I whispered softly. She moaned softly and I smiled. "Baby, wake up." She stirred softly against my chest, sitting up slowly and looking over at me. "Nice nap?" I asked, rubbing her back softly. She nodded slowly, opening her eyes widely, trying to wake up a little more. "Where are we?" she asked, looking around. "Bakersfield. Are you hungry?" She nodded, turning back to look at me. She still looked like she was half asleep. She had a glaze over her eyes that only came from sleeping deeply. I knew she had been dreaming when she had mumbled against my chest, but I could barely make it out and I couldn't even remember now. "Were you dreaming just now?" She bit her lip, laying her head back against my lip. "Was I too loud?" she asked and I couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "No. You just said something, I couldn't quite make it out. I think you said I do something, I don't know." Her hand gripped at my shirt softly as she silently answered, "I really would rather not telling you." I took exit 111 on Chester Avenue. "Why not? Was it that bad?" She sat up, turning her head to look at me. "That sign says there's a Church's Chicken. Turn right." I looked at her for a moment before shaking my head and turning to the right. I decided not to pressure her on it. If she didn't want to tell me right now, that was ok. I didn't want to think I was pushing her to do anything.

We pulled into the Church's Chicken parking lot and I hopped out of the front seat, turning back to Gabriella to help her out of the cab of the truck. "You're going to think it's horrible and probably want to leave me in the dust," she told me after we had gotten our food and were sitting at a table. We had ordered a four piece spicier spicy chicken meal with jalapeño cheese bombers for her and mashed potatoes for me and we each got a Pepsi. "I would never leave you in the dust, Gabriella," I told her, shaking my head and opening the potatoes container. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. I'm sure it isn't that horrible." I had no idea what she was talking about, but if she was going to tell me, I didn't have to ask her that. "What I was dreaming in the truck," she said silently. I nodded, having decided it wasn't a big deal like she had told me, I had forgotten all about it, but she was ready to tell me now and I was going ot let her. "I'm sure it's not horrible, baby. Was it a nightmare? You didn't sound scared when you were talking in your sleep." She looked up at me slowly, picking up a bomber, shaking her head. "You might think it was a nightmare. Me?… I'm not so sure what it was. I know in my dream it as all just because of what Dani had said." I narrowed my eyes in on her, taking a bite of my potatoes. Danica had said a lot of things. I didn't know what she was referring to. Gabriella took a deep breath, barely mumbling what she had dreamt, "We got mmm-mm-mm."

I leaned more over the table, to hear her better. "It's ok, Gabriella. You can tell me. I'm not going to think it's horrible." She looked at me straight, telling me out loud, "We got married." My eyes widened and I sat back against the seat, unable to believe my ears. When Danica had asked us if that's what we were doing yesterday, I had felt a weird twinge in my stomach. That same twinge was back. I didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but I knew that because Gabriella didn't think she could tell me she was dreaming about it, she didn't think I would think it was a good thing, whether she thought it was good or not. I listened to her words in my head over again _"We got married." _Slowly, I nodded my head. "Were we happy in your dream?" was all I could ask. That way I didn't tell her how I was feeling about it, because in all honesty, I didn't know. Sure, I thought about being with her, not seeing my life without her, but I hadn't once thought about marrying her until yesterday, and the way Gabriella had downplayed it yesterday had made it so I hadn't had to think about it for much more than a moment at the time. But now that she was dreaming about it, we were both thinking about it. "We were," she said, looking back down at the bomber in her hand she had yet to put into her mouth. I nodded, taking a deep breath. I wasn't sure what I felt about us getting married so young. However, I wasn't sure how long I wanted to wait either. I had four years of college ahead of me at least and Gabriella had more than six years to go. Of course, there was no law that said we had to wait until we graduated college to get married, but we just graduated high school and were so busy getting ready for college, thinking about getting married right now just wasn't something either of us had planned.

And it wasn't as though either one of us were thinking about getting married right now, we were just thinking about it. "I haven't thought about before now, Gabriella, I mean _really_ thought about it before now. I mean, yeah, I've known for a while now that you're the one I want to marry," I told her, not really realizing I was saying it until the words came out. But they were out now and I didn't mind. She knew I loved her and she knew I wanted to be with her. Her knowing that I wanted to marry her shouldn't be too much for her to handle. "You have?" she asked, clearly not expecting me to say that. I smiled, reaching across the table for her hand. "Yes, Gabriella. I love you and I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't know when the rest of my life really starts for us being married, but I know I want it to be with you." She slowly smiled, looking from our hands up to look at me. "So do I, Troy," she whispered across the table and I smiled. I was happy to know that when I was ready to ask her she'd want it as much as I do and I wouldn't have to worry about her saying no if the time was right. "But I don't think the time is right, right now," I told her slowly. She smiled, nodding her head softly. "Me either, Troy. There's so much going on in our lives right now. I don't know how we could ever get married now." But the point was we both wanted to get married to each other at some point, and that's all that mattered.

* * *

We ate our meal before heading back out to the truck and getting back on the freeway. We still had four and a half hours to go, which would put us in Palo Alto around six thirty. We could get checked into our motel and have plenty of time to have a good meal, not like the nights in Vegas when we'd gotten into the room after ten each night. I sat curled up next to Troy as he drove up the highway. I reached out, turning on the radio, finding a country station and stopping on it. It was old country, but it was the first country station in a long line of stations that were anything but. Troy loved country music. Growing up in Albuquerque, it was his favorite kind of music. He liked others, but not as much as country. I liked country. It wasn't my favorite, but I still liked it. "On the road again, like a band of gypsies we go down the highway," Troy started singing along to the tune coming from the speakers and I smiled up at him. I loved his voice. I loved singing with him. I knew this song, the chorus mostly, but not well enough to sing the whole song with him. "We're the best of friends, insisting that the world keep turning our way. And our way," he looked over at me for a moment and I sang alone, "…is on the road again." I giggled slightly at him and he started singing the chorus with me, "Just can't wait to get on the road again. The life I love is makin' music with my friends, and I can't wait to get on the road again. On the road again," I stopped singing with him and he continued on his own, "Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway." I smiled up at him, listening to him singing. He was having a lot of fun singing this old song. "We're the best of friends insisting that the world keep turning our way. And our way," I started singing with him again, "is on the road again. Just can't wait to get on the road again. The life I love is makin' music with my friends. And I can't wait to get on the road again. And I can't wait to get on the road again."

Troy laughed, pulling me closer to his side. "I love this!" he said, kissing the side of my head. I wrapped my arms around him, laying my head on his chest. Taking this trip with him was probably one of the best decisions I could have made. "Me too, Troy." I couldn't believe I had let what Dani had said bother me so much. And it wasn't as though it really bothered me, but I thought it didn't because I hadn't thought about it until I had woken up from dreaming about it. Apparently it had gotten to me. I knew I had wanted to marry Troy, but not now. Troy was right when he said that the time wasn't right, right now. I couldn't even believe Danica had brought it up like she had. But then again lots of people think that couples come to Vegas just to get married. It had only been a pit stop on our way up to Palo Alto. I didn't want to fall asleep again, so Troy and I started playing the alphabet sign game. We'd have to find letters in the alphabet, starting with A on the billboards or milepost signs or street signs. Even though he was driving, he as pretty good at the game. It wasn't as though we were keeping score or anything, but it was just fun to see who could find the letters the fastest. The hardest letters were always Q and Z, but Troy found a Dairy Queen and I found a billboard advertising Jay-Z in concert. We played twice, using Dairy Queen again as the Q but unable to find a Z again.

We got to Palo Alto just before 7 p.m. and checked into the Sheraton. We took our bags up to the room but didn't stay long. We were both kind of hungry, so we decided to go to the Asian restaurant we saw down the street. We sat at a table in the corner, just the two of us. Troy ordered the Shanghai Beef & Chicken and I ordered the Thai Green Curry Chicken. We made plans for tomorrow of things we wanted to do after we got finished looking at housing. My appointment was at nine in the morning. We'd be done by about ten and Troy's GPS said we'd get to Berkeley about an hour later. We could look around at the different housing and have a late lunch before heading back down here to Palo Alto. We'd have the entire afternoon to do whatever with, go swimming, check out the shopping in the area and other points of interest before heading to bed early. Like we did tonight. We got back to the hotel just before nine and both changed into our pajamas. I was tired by the time I crawled into bed and into Troy's arms. I never wanted to sleep a night away from him after these last few nights, but I knew that was an impossibility. We'd have this trip and then we'd go back to sleeping at our parents' homes until we came back out here next month. And I knew my mom would never allow Troy to spend the night. Even if I told her we weren't doing anything, she'd say something like _"Its best to avoid the appearance of evil, Mija." _I was sure she wouldn't like me staying over at Troy's parents house either. They probably had their rules as well. We'd just have to wait for those times when we were able to visit each other when we were back here. The place we were going to look at tomorrow where I would most likely be living was off campus and didn't have co-ed rules. We'd make sure to find one like that for Troy as well. Living more than five minutes away from him was going to be hard on both of us, I'm sure, but we both had our own education to think about.

I looked up at Troy from where I was laying against his side. "I'm glad we took this trip together, Troy," I whispered in the darkness. We decided not to watch TV tonight and just lay here in each other's arms until we fell asleep. "Me too, Gabriella," he kissed my forehead and I smiled softly. "I don't know how I'm going to go sleeping without you from now on." He returned my smile and nodded, running his fingers through my hair. "I know. But we'll figure out something or find a way to cope somehow. Late-night phone calls might help." My smile softened as I laid my head back against his chest. "It isn't the same as your arms wrapped around me." He pulled me more against him, kissing the top of my head again. "I know, baby, but we'll survive somehow. I promise you. I love you, Gabriella." I kissed his chest over his shirt, wrapping my arm more around him. "I love you, Troy." I closed my eyes, holding him close to me. I never wanted to let go. I loved him more than I have ever thought loving someone was possible. We were meant to be together, that I was sure of. We may not have plans to get married for a while, but that didn't mean that we wouldn't be together forever. It might take awhile, but it will happen, sooner or later. It'd most likely end up being later, but it would happen. That I was sure of. We were both deeply in love with each other and we always would be, I knew that for sure. He was my everything and I knew he was his.


	4. House Hunting

_I stared up at Gabriella as she sat on my lap, riding my cock. I held onto her hips as she rode me, rocking her as I moved her faster on me. "_God, Gabriella!" _She felt so good, inside and out. Her pussy as so tight and so welcoming and her body yearned for each and every touch, every caress, every thrust. She had wanted this as much as I did, so when I finally threw her down on the bed, it didn't take long before we got right here to this moment. My cock as so deep inside her, her moans coming out louder and louder the closer we came to our climax. I had always known our first time was going to be amazing, but this was heavenly. Her tight pussy wrapped around my cock pulling me deeper and deeper inside of her with each push inside of her. I moved my hands up her sides and her head fell backwards softly, moaning out, "Yes, Troy!" Nothing was more perfect than this moment. I knew as I felt her pussy walls clamp down around me and my balls tightened, nothing could ever top this. I pulled her down to me, kissing her deeply as I shot my release deep into her, taking her moans into my mouth and letting her take mine into hers, culminating together harmoniously._

I felt the sticky warmth against my boxers and ball shorts as I slowly started to come to. My cock was still hard and throbbing, but Gabriella wasn't anywhere to be found. Part of me was disappointed another part of me was grateful she hadn't been here to witness me having a wet dream about her. It wasn't the first time it had happened and I was sure it wouldn't be the last. As consciousness started to settle in more, I heard the shower water coming from the bathroom and closed my eyes again. I could still feel her wrapped around me, her pussy pulling every ounce of me into the tight chasm that is her pussy. I wanted her badly. I wanted to walk right into that bathroom and step in the shower with her, pushing her up against the wall, and make her feel as good as she had in my dream, but I couldn't do that. I couldn't no matter how badly my cock ached to have her. The water turned off and I opened my eyes, looking down, grateful that I had kicked off the sheets and the mess was only in my shorts. I knew hotels didn't change the sheets when you stay two nights in a row. Three, yes, but not two. I groaned, finally being able to sit up as my cock softened in my sticky shorts. I turned my body to step off of the bed and looked at myself in the mirror over the dresser across from the bed. My shorts had a huge stain on them now. How in the hell was I going to hide this from Gabriella? The door opened from the bathroom and I could see her from the mirror. She had her towel around her as she stepped out and my eyes practically popped right out of my head. I moved my hands quickly in front of me, letting them cover as much of the evidence as possible.

She came out into the bedroom and practically jumped when she saw me. "Troy!" she gasped, placing her hand over her breasts over the top of the towel. "You scared me half to death." I swallowed hard, shifting slightly. "I'm sorry," my voice came out shaky and she looked at me strangely, her eyes dropping to my hands over my shorts. "Are you alright, Troy?" I cleared my throat, shaking my head slowly. "I uh… should take a shower and get dressed." She nodded her head slowly, walking over to her suitcase and pulling it up on the bed. I sighed heavily and walked into the bathroom. I'd have to get my shorts washed, go down to the guest laundry room and wash them. I hated that I couldn't tell Gabriella about this, but she didn't need to know the ways I was thinking about her when she wasn't even in the room. I walked into the bathroom and pushed the door till it was mostly closed, but not the entire way before pushing my shorts and boxers off of my hips and leaving them on the floor with my shirt after dropping it in the same pile and stepping into the shower, turning on the water. The water felt good as it rushed over my body. I stood there, just letting it rush over my body for the longest time. I didn't want to think. I knew if I did, I'd be thinking about Gabriella and I'd be hard again. Even trying not to think about her was only succeeding in _making_ me think about her and I knew I would be hard in a matter of moments. I wanted her more and more all the time and I knew it as just going to get more intense. I had to talk to her about it and soon. I didn't expect anything to come of it, especially not immediately after the talk, but something had to be said. She had to know I needed her.

I quickly showered and dried off with my towel before wrapping it around me and grabbing my clothes, walking back out into the bedroom. I saw her standing at the mirror over the dresser, applying her makeup. She had on a white skirt and a brown shirt. She looked absolutely amazing. She turned to look at me and my breath caught in my throat. Her eyes wandered over my towel-covered body and I had to shift slightly. "I should get dressed," I said and she nodded. I stepped to walk past her to grab my bag and I could smell how fresh she was, how sweet. Standing up after picking up my bag, I stood behind her for a moment, looking at her in the mirror. She smiled at me through the mirror and I pulled her hair back from her shoulder, pressing my lips softly to her neck. "I love you, Gabriella." She leaned back against me and I closed my eyes, swallowing hard. "We should talk, Gabriella," I told her, letting go of a long breath of air. She stiffened up and looked at me after turning around, leaning up against the dresser. "This doesn't sound good." I took a deep breath, stepping back to sit on the bed, just to put distance between us. "This isn't going to be good," she said, sitting on the low-rise dresser. "No, its not a bad thing," I told her, running my fingers through my wet hair. She sat in silence, her hands tucked gently between her knees. I noticed the time in the reflection of the mirror and turned to look at the alarm clock on the nightstand. Sighing heavily, I turned back to her. "We really don't have time for this conversation right now," I told her, leaning forward and hanging my head in my hands over my knees. "Troy," I heard her speak as she moved from the dresser to sit beside me on the bed. "You can't just start a conversation like that and then NOT continue it. What is it?" I looked up at her, shaking my head. Sighing heavily, I started by asking, "Remember you asked if I as ok when you came out of the shower?" She nodded slowly, her eyes narrowing in on me, obviously having no clue what I was going to say. "I really wasn't ok. I didn't tell you what was wrong because I didn't know how to tell you what happened."

She took my hands in hers, rubbing them softly on my lap. "Whatever it is, Troy, you can tell me." I looked into her gorgeous, dark chocolate eyes. "I was dreaming of you… and me." She still didn't seem to catch on, her eyes growing more dark, trying to figure it out. "We were having se- making love, Gabriella." I knew that was a more gentle way of putting it. I didn't want to be crass about this. Her eyes widened immensely and she pulled her hands back from mine, turning to look down at the floor. "Oh," she said silently. "It actually woke me up, Gabriella. It was … I thought it was real." She took a deep breath, nodding. "Gabriella… What is it?" She shook her head and stood up, walking back over to the dresser to continue putting on her makeup. "You're right," she said, starting to put her makeup on again, "There isn't enough time for this conversation. You should get dressed." She picked up all of her makeup quickly, retreating into the bathroom. "I'll be out in a few minutes." I watched her as she slammed the door shut, leaving me alone in the bedroom. I threw my head back into my hands, grunting against them. What had I just done? I bring up sex an she pretty much bolted. I shouldn't have opened my mouth. I was a horny dick and I shouldn't have told her. I should have just kept it to myself as I had the hundreds of times before. Standing up, I shook my head heavily and started to get dressed.

A few moments later, I was slipping my shoes on when Gabriella came out of the bathroom, bright smile on her face and picking up her purse. "Ready?" she asked, holding her arms over her chest. Standing up straight, I grabbed my keys and my wallet, stuffing them in my pockets before picking up my sun glasses and hanging them on my blue T-shirt as I walked over to her. "All ready." She took my hand and we headed out the door, walking down to the elevator and to my truck in silence. I didn't want to go on like this. We had to speak sometime, but I wouldn't bring up the conversation we started in the bedroom. I was just going to forget about it. I shouldn't have brought it up and I knew that now. She walked to the passenger side and I swallowed hard, opening the door for her. She climbed up without taking my hand for help and I sighed heavily, shutting the door and walking around to my side of the truck, getting in myself. "Did you know where you'd like to eat?" I asked, starting the engine. She shook her head, smiling over at me, but her voice nor her worlds held the same volume her smile did. "Any place is fine. Denny's, I guess." I sighed heavily, pulling out onto the road and driving silently. We didn't talk much at breakfast either. We didn't even talk much on the way over to the apartment we were going to look at for her. The GPS system told us how to get there, every single turn, saving us from having to talk. Saving, not being the right word, but serving just the same.

She didn't act much differently than usual, other than she wasn't talking to me. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know where to even begin. I had opened my mouth and told her something I didn't need to tell her. We had been listening to the radio on the whole way up I-880. It had been the only sound for miles in the cab of my truck. Tim McGraw's I Need You started playing. I started singing with him, but I wasn't really, only thinking I was. "I wanna drink that shot of whiskey… I wanna smoke that cigarette… I wanna smell that sweet addiction… on my breath." There was still no sound in the cab but the sound of the radio. "I wanna ride 'cross West Virginia... in the back seat of a Cadillac… You know some cowboys like me go out like that… So I need youuu," I sang in my head as I looked over at Gabriella for a moment before turning my attention back to the road. "Like a needle needs a vein. Like my Uncle Joe in Oklahoma needs the raaain. I need you… Like a lighthouse on the coast, like the Father and the Son need the Hooooly Ghost, I need you."

* * *

We were listening to the radio. It was the only sound in the truck for the longest time. I hadn't really spoken to Troy since … Since he brought up sex. I couldn't talk about that with him now. I couldn't, not when he didn't know why we haven't done it yet or why we haven't talked about it before now. I could have told him everything, but I didn't know how, and having my appointment at the apartment saved me from having to say what I wasn't sure I could at the moment. I've had hours to think about it, and maybe when I was able to tell him everything, it would come out more easily than it would have this morning. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's I Need You song came on the radio and I listened to Tim's voice, smiling softly as I imagined it was Troy's. I closed my eyes and listened to the words, thinking it's Troy singing. When Faith started singing, I started to sing along, but only in my head. "I wanna get lost in some corner booth… Cantinaaa Mexicooooo… Wanna dance to the static of an AM radiooooo… Wanna wrap the moon around us…" I closed my eyes, singing still in my head, "Lay beside you, skin oooon skin… making love 'til the sun comes up… 'til the sun goes down agaaaain." I opened my eyes, turning to look at Troy as I sang to him, but only in my head, "'Cause I need you… Like a needle needs a ve-eein. Like Uncle Joe in Oklahoma needs the rain… I need you. Like a lighthouse needs the coast, like Father and the Son need the Hoooly Ghoooost…" I heard Troy's voice singing along with me in my head, even though it's not part of the real song, "I need youuuuu." I envisioned him turned to look at me as he was singing with me, "Oooooh, IIIII need you."

* * *

And then, it wasn't as if we were even listening to the radio anymore, or even singing the song the way it was written, we both started singing different lines to the song, still in my head. I continued to sing as Tim did, "I wanna drink that shot of whiskey," and Gabriella sang, "I wanna get lost in some corner booth," on top of my line. "I wanna smoke that cigarette," I sang along as Gabriella sang, "I wanna wrap the moon around us." I smiled slightly, looking at her in my mind, but all the while keeping my eyes on the road as I sang, "You know some cowboys like me go out like that," while Gabriella's voice played softly over mine, "Lay beside you skin oooon skin." And then we both sang, "So, I need youuuu." I closed my eyes momentarily, singing softly, "Ooooh, I need you," as Gabriella's voice echoed in my head, "Like a needle needs a vein, like a lighthouse needs a coast, like Father and the Son need the Hooooly Ghooooost, I need you." I swallowed, focusing on the road as the radio started playing a commercial, glancing over at Gabriella shortly. Taking a deep breath, I looked back out the windshield. "I'm sorry," I whispered, not knowing what else to say. I swallowed again, gripping the steering wheel. I had been feeling horrible all day long. The last time I felt anywhere near this bad was when Gabriella had told me she wasn't coming home for the musical and prom. I hated this distance between us, both the emotional and physical. "No, I'm sorry," her voice came out softly and I could swear I heard tears laced through it. We were just coming up to the exit the GPS had told me to take toward the Berkeley. Taking a deep breath, I turned to her, stopping at the stoplight on Claremont to turn left. "I didn't mean to push you on this, Gabriella. That wasn't my intention at all." She looked over at me, the tears glistening in her eyes as she shook her head. "You weren't." I took a deep breath, reaching over to her, running my fingers through her hair. She turned her face into my palm as I softly caressed her cheek. "I think about it all the time, Troy. I've actually wondered why you haven't brought it up before."

I heard a honk from the horn of a car behind us and turned to see the green light shining back. Pulling forward, I turned left, passing under the freeway. "You seemed scared in a way earlier, Gabriella. If you think about it, why was it so hard to talk about?" I heard her seatbelt unclick and felt her slide over closer to me as she pulled on the belt beside me, laying her head on my shoulder. "Can we talk about this when we get back to the hotel tonight, Troy?" I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her closer to me. "Ok, baby," I whispered, kissing her head softly. We were given a list of off campus housing at the college and decided to check out ARTech first. It seemed like the best option and it was closest to most of the classes I would be taking. It was in the art district, near the Aurora Theatre. I liked that. Gabriella really liked the place. She said it was me. I signed a lease for a one bedroom unit with the manager and made arrangements for when I would be moving in. After we had done the same for Gabriella earlier for a two bedroom unit, things were definitely going well today, despite it's rocky start. We ate at a little Indian place called Naan -N- Curry. Gabriella had Lamb Jalfraizi, a lamb dish cooked in a sauce of onions, garlic, ginger, bell peppers and tomatoes, and I had Chicken Karahi, a stir-fry dish. It wasn't long before we were back on I-880 and headed back South to Palo Alto. I suggested we go swimming in the hotel swimming pool for a while before calling it a night. We didn't do much but hold each other as I treaded the water for us in the deep end, kissing occasionally. We didn't talk much, but it wasn't a horrible silence that was between us now, it was comfortable and peaceful. Gabriella suggested we go back up to the room and relax for the rest of the night after we'd been in the pool close to an hour. I let her take a shower first and get into her pajamas and changed into my sleep shorts and T-shirt I had left in the washer before we went swimming and had gone to switch over to the dryer halfway through the time we had been swimming. Gabriella seemed to be a little embarrassed to know why I was washing them, but she wasn't alone. We had washed the rest of our dirty clothes along with them as well, so it wasn't a total waste of water and soap. I showered after Gabriella was done and came out dressed to find her laying in bed waiting for me.

She smiled at me, pulling the covers back for me so I could crawl in beside her. I pulled her into my arms as I laid beside her, kissing her forehead softly. She rested her head against my chest and I held her close to me. "I need to tell you why I pulled away from you earlier when you told me what you had dreamt last night," Gabriella told me silently, her fingers running softly on my shirt over my chest. "Only if you want to, baby," I whispered into her hair. She looked up at me, nodding, "I need to. You need to understand why I pulled away… why we haven't made love yet, Troy." I smoothed her hair out of her face and she smiled softly and briefly before it faded and she laid her head back down on my chest. "My mom was raped when I was 11." I hadn't expected to hear that at all. "I was right down the hall in my room. It was a few years after my parents divorced. She had just started dating again." She was silent for a moment and I gently rubbed her back. "You don't have to tell me, Gabriella." She looked up at me and I could see the glistening tears slowly falling from her eyes in the minimal light in the room. "You have to know, Troy. You have to know the reason why we haven't done more than make out." I nodded my head, caressing her face softly as she continued, "I heard everything. I heard her screaming. I heard him hit her to shut her up. I could hear her crying and all I could do was cry myself. I couldn't handle it and hid in my music from my .mp3 player in my headphones. I should have called the cops, but I was too scared, and when I asked her to do it later, she told me she couldn't." She was silent again and I didn't know what to say. What could I say? I just held her as she told me, "We moved soon after that and as far as I know she hasn't heard from him. It was my first encounter with sex, Troy. It may not have happened to me, but it affected me." She looked up at me, whispering softly, "You were the first guy I ever came close enough to to even think about sex without it scaring me. I'd never even kissed a guy or let one touch me past shaking my hand. You were my first kiss. You were the first and only boy I have ever made out with, and you'll be the first and only boy I'll ever make love to, Troy." I kissed the top of her head, rubbing her back softly. "And you'll be the only girl I ever make love to, Gabriella." She looked back up at me, smiling softly before pressing her lips up to mine before slowly pulling away. "Thank you for being so good about this, Troy," she whispered against my lips as I ran my fingers through her hair. "I want to make love to you," she told me, running her fingers through my hair. "Can you wait until I'm ready?" she asked quietly and I turned her face back to look at me when she slowly started to turn away. "I will wait as long as you need me to, Gabriella. I want you… I need you, but I will wait until you're ready." She smiled, pressing her lips back to mine before pulling back slowly. "I need you too, Troy. I just want the moment to be right. I want to be sure I'm not going to break down in tears while we're doing it." I kissed her lips again, shhhhing her. "No, Gabriella. Don't worry about it. I said I'll wait and I'll wait. I love you." She smiled, kissing me again, murmuring softly against my lips, "I love you, Troy."


	5. Be With You

I turned over in Troy's arms, unable to sleep all night. I didn't know if it was the bed or what it was. I knew we'd be home tomorrow, big family dinner at Troy's parents' house, and I was happy to be home, even if it was just for a little while longer before Troy and I left for California again. But something was off. Something was weighing on my mind and I couldn't shake it. I looked at Troy as he slept in the moonlight that spilled in from the top of the curtains over the window. I knew he was everything to me. He was my best friend. He was the first boy I ever fell in love with, and something told me he would be the only boy I would ever love. I gave my heart to him and he loved me completely. He didn't give my heart back. He kept it and gave me his own in return. He was everything to me and I never wanted to lose him.

But I was going to miss him like crazy when he was up in Berkeley and I was in Palo Alto. It was only a half hour away, but it was the farthest we'd lived away from each other in the year and a half we've known each other. I knew we'd have the phone calls that would last all night long and neither one of us would get very much sleep, but we'd make it work somehow. We were in love and he wasn't about to just let me go so easily. And honestly, deep down, I didn't want him to. I had thought when I had called him from Stamford back in May to tell him I wasn't coming home was the best idea, but he had proved to me that it wasn't. When he showed up, all dressed for prom, missing the in Albuquerque just to be with me, I knew I couldn't just walk away so easily. Yes, I know that missing prom isn't a big deal, but if he didn't care, he wouldn't have driven one thousand and fifty-three miles just to be with me.

"_I figured you'd be the last one out of the building," I heard his voice from the tree above me as I had been staring in amazement at his truck. Turning to see him, up there in that silly tree, I smiled, still disbelieving he was actually here. _"I don't believe this,"_ I told him, still trying to wrap my head around it. "I took a wrong turn on the way to prom," he told me, crouching down on the branch six feet up in the air. "So did you." I shook my head in amazement at him. "_You are so crazy, Wildcat. And what is it with you and trees?" _He answered me without even having to think about it, "I guess I see things more clearly from up here." I turned slightly, so happy to see him. _"Well, you look handsome. Prom is in tonight in Albuquerque. A thousand miles away." _He hopped out of the tree, walking closer to me. "My prom is wherever you are," he said, taking something out of his pocket. He was the sweetest boy ever. I loved him more than anything. I now knew it. I didn't know why I was so blind to think that I could just walk away from him, from the best love I would ever know._

"_If I'm going to have a last dance at East High," he said, holding out the corsage for me, "it's going to be with you." I smiled, handing him my hand to let him slip the corsage over my wrist. He took a step back and held out his other hand for mine. "Take my hand," he started to sing as I placed my hand in his, "I'll take the lead, and every turn, you'll be safe with me." He turned me around slowly under his arm, pulling me closer to him. "Don't be afraid, afraid to fall" he said, placing his hands on my side before dropping one of them and dipping me back, and swooping me slowly around, before pulling me back up to him. "You know I'll catch you through it all." We started dancing and he continued to sing, "And you can't keep us apart," as I sang, _"Even a thousand lives, can't keep us apart." _We both sang, but not together, _"'Cause my heart is wherever you are." _And as we were dancing, we both started to imagine that we were back in Albuquerque with our friends at our prom as we sang together. _"It's like catching lightning the chances of finding someone like you. It's one in a million the chances of feeling the way weeee dooo. And with eeeevery step together, we just keep on getting better," _the vision of us at prom faded away as our singing started to end. _"So, can I have this dance? Can I have this dance?" _I sang alone, _"So can I have this dance?" _And Troy and I sang, "Can I have this daaaance?" I sang, and he spun me under his arm again, _"Can I have," _and Troy joined in singing with me, _"this daaaaance? Can I have this," _and Troy stopped singing, letting me finish the song alone, _"daaaaance?"

_And then he kissed me. He was so sweet and tender. He never pushed me for more than I was ready for. His hands didn't move more than he knew I was comfortable with. He never pressured me. The kiss was sweet and tender. I gave him all of myself as I could in the kiss, all that was publicly acceptable, which was just the right comfort level for me. I got into our kisses a little more when it was just the two of us alone in his or my bedroom, or even quite possibly in his truck or in the hammock of my backyard, but he never pushed me past my comfort level and I loved him for that. I loved him for so many reasons, the way he loved me was just one of them. He smiled softly down at me as I took his hands and led him through the park area on campus. "You know, I'm not the only one who changed when you came to East High," he told me, holding one of my hands as we walked. "Kids that I used to just pass in the hallway, we're friends now. And we're supposed to be doing the show together. The problem is: East High changed when you got there, and now it's changed since you left." He turned me to look at him, his heart pouring out to me as he spoke, "You might be ready to say goodbye to East High, but East High is not ready to say goodbye to you."_

I had known he was right. We drove back to Albuquerque at that moment. It was already late when we left, so we stopped off to spend one night in a motel. I had slept so well that night in his arms, and these last few nights together have been perfect, just like then, but knowing this is our last night before we were back in Albuquerque, sleeping in our own beds, I didn't want to go to sleep. I did, but I knew if I did, it would be that much sooner until we were home and I didn't want to let him go. I just wanted to be with him. I didn't want to let him go for anything. But there wasn't anything that could be done about being with him. For the next few weeks, he'd be at his parents' house and I'd be home with Mom, and then we'd leave for school, be together for the weekend and school would start and we'd only see each other on the weekends. Thinking about it was driving me crazy. I had thought that when I was at Stamford for the honors program that it was the best idea to cut right off from him, but he had proven to me that it wasn't. How could I just leave him? I loved him and I knew he loved me. That's why this was so hard on me, why it was so hard on us. I knew it was going to be as hard on him as it is on me, but he said we'd get through it. _"We're all in this together." _It had been our motto for all of us at East High, and it still stuck for the two of us now. We're in this together. The two of us, forever. I knew it, but it didn't make things any easier on me.

Troy stirred beside me and I looked up into his eyes, seeing them looking down on me. "Morning already?" he asked me. I shook my head softly, placing my hand on his cheek. "Did I wake you?" He shook his head lightly in return, taking my hand in his and pulling it to his mouth to kiss the palm. I smiled softly. "What time is it?" Sleep was still heavy on his lips, but he was alert to know it was still nighttime, even though I had told him so. "Just after two," I told him, glancing at the clock on the nightstand behind him. "You alright?" he asked, pulling me closer to him. I nodded softly, but then I shook my head. "What is it, baby?" he asked, more awake than a moment ago. I looked down at his shirt, my fingers toying with the material. "I miss you already," I whispered. Moving his hand, he placed his forefinger under my chin and lifted my face to look at him. "Miss me? I'm not going anywhere." I swallowed, taking a deep breath. I closed my eyes, resting my head on his chest. "I know we talked about this last night, Troy, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about it." I felt his lips on the top of my head and swallowed softly.

"I've never felt like this before, Troy. I've never needed, or even wanted something the way I need and want you. But I do. This isn't just about sleeping in the same bed with you. This isn't just about having your arms around me. This is about being with you. This is about seeing you every day. This is about waking up and knowing that it's only going to be a matter of time, no more than a few hours, until I see you that day." I looked up at him, I could see the same emotion in his eyes that I felt through my entire body. "Not being able to see you every single day. Not being able to hear your voice, the voice coming from your lips," I said, letting my fingers brush softly over his lips, "and not through the telephone. It's not the same." He took my hand in his, kissing my fingertips. "I know," he whispered softly. "I thought choosing to go to Berkeley instead of U of A was the best choice I could have made. But sometimes I think 32.7 miles away is even farther than one thousand and fifty-three." It was as if he had taken the thoughts out of my own head. "You said we'd get through this, and I know we will, it's just going to be so hard," I whispered, pulling myself up closer to him.

His arm wrapped around my waist and I felt his hand resting on my hip. His touch was always so gentle. He never forced me, he never pushed me into doing anything I wasn't comfortable with. He was sweet and tender. Sometimes though, sometimes, I just wished that he would take control. I didn't know if I was really ready to make love to him or not yet, but I didn't know if I'd ever know when I'd be ready. If maybe he'd take the lead, make love to me without me asking, maybe I'd be alright. I wouldn't know unless it happened. But I knew he never would. I knew he loved me and had too much respect for me to do that, especially after what I had told him yesterday. He respected me even before I told him about what happened to my mother. He always had. I knew he'd never do anything unless I told him I was ready for it. I just wish I would know when I was ready. Nothing was going to make any of this better. Making love right now wouldn't make any of that better. In fact, I'm sure it would make things even harder than they already were when we were living so many miles apart from each other. I loved him and I wanted to make love to him, but I didn't know for a fact that I was ready. I didn't want to do that until I knew for sure that I was ready. I knew I would know when I was ready, when the time came, but until then, I wouldn't know. I wouldn't know until I was in the moment, at least I didn't think. Maybe I'd know before hand and it would be something we'd plan, or maybe we'd just be in the moment and I'd just feel it was right and it would happen. Either way, I would know when it was right and it would happen, but not until then.

"Troy," I whispered, my fingers twisting around the hem of his shirt, taking a deep breath. He breathed in deeply, half yawning, "Yes, baby?" My fingers gently brushed against his bare stomach under his shirt and I heard his breath catch in his throat. "How much-" I bit my lip, closing my eyes. "How much do you think you can… handle before you have to stop?" I felt his fingers beneath my chin, lifting my face up to look at him in the moonlight." "Gabriella…" he whispered, taking a deep breath. "Are you sure?" I smiled up at him, lifting my hand up to run my fingers across his lips. "Yes, Troy," I whispered. "I'm not ready to… but I want to be as close to you as possible without actually…" I smiled more at him as his fingers ran through my hair. "Ok, Gabriella," he said, sliding his hand down and over my side. He slipped it beneath my tank top, rubbing slightly against my bare stomach. We had touched each other's bare stomachs, backs and I'd touched his bare chest before, but even though this gentle touch wasn't any different than other times, it felt different. I felt as though I wasn't going to see him for a long time and I only wanted to feel his hands all over my body. We wouldn't be having sex, but this would be as close to making love as we would get for now. I slowly moved so I was laying on top of him, sitting up on his lap. I pulled him to sit up with me, pulling his shirt up and off of his shoulders over his head, dropping it beside us on the bed. My hands moved up his arms, resting on his shoulders. "I love you, Troy," I spoke silently, instinctively moving my hips against his. The more I moved on him, the more I felt his penis press up against me through our clothes. The more I turned him on, the more I was turning myself on.

* * *

"I love you, Troy," her voice played softly in the air, the sultriness laced through her words, I'm sure she didn't even notice, but that in combination with the way she was moving on my lap was enough to drive me crazy. I was turned on, but that wasn't unusual. I got turned on only thinking about her. What she was doing to me right now was mind blowing. "I love you, Gabriella," I whispered, my lips brushing over hers. She leaned back, looking into my eyes as she moved her hands from my shoulders down to grab the bottom of her shirt. I took her wrists in my hands, looking into her dark eyes. "Troy?" her voice came out weakly and confused. I had never seen her naked before. Sure, I'd imagined it, dreamt about it, but I'd never actually seen her. I'd never touched more than her stomach or her back or her shoulders. But here she was about to open herself to me, physically, more than she ever had before. I had to know she was perfectly sure about this. "Gabriella, are you sure you're comfortable with this?" She nodded, taking my hands in hers, placing them on the bottom of her tank top, smiling down at me. "Go ahead, Troy. I want you to touch me. I want you to see me." I usually heard uneasiness or even fear when we'd gotten this far and we'd stop, but there wasn't any of that here now. She sounded as sure as I was that I wanted this. Nodding, I lifted her shirt up and over her head, dropping it where she had dropped mine. I kept my eyes on her face. I wanted to look, but I didn't want her to think this was only physical for me. I wanted her more than just for the way she looked. I loved her and I wanted her to know that.

She took my hands again, moving them from where I had rested them on her hips after taking her shirt off, moving them up to her breasts. She stopped when my hands were covering them, her hands covering my hands holding them there. "Oh, Troy," she gasped out, gripping at my hands over her breasts as she moved her hips more against mine. Her head dropped back slightly, arching herself against me, making her breasts fill my hands a little more. "Gabriella!" I groaned out, moving one of my hands from her breast, wrapping it around the back of her head, pulling her face back down to mine, pressing my lips to hers and kissing her deeply. She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling our bodies together, our chest pressing against each others, intensifying our kiss. Having never felt her naked breasts before now, feeling them against my chest was incredible. God, I could only imagine how good my cock would feel buried deep inside her pussy. I knew how all of this felt in my dreams, but this was way more intense than all the dreams I've ever had before. I would love to be inside her right now, but there was no way we'd be going farther than this, not until Gabriella was ready. I knew what she was doing now was a giant step for her, but I knew she wasn't about read to take that last leap just yet, and I wasn't going to push her on it. I knew I could get by on this alone for a while. Knowing this was all that would happen would keep me from needing more. That's how it was before and that's what I would make sure of. I wasn't going to push her to do what she wasn't ready for.

Gabriella gasped, pulling back to look at me in the little light from the moon through the window. "Troy," she moaned, pushing her hips against mine, "I know you want more…" Her voice came out breathless and I could tell she wanted more too, but there was still that uncertainty I was familiar with hiding there. Rubbing her back softly, I shook my head. "I always want more," I admitted to her. "I've told you before, Gabs," I smiled, lifting a hand and running it through her hair, tucking it back over her ear, "but I know you're not ready for more than this. It's ok, baby. We will make love some day, but not until you know you're ready." I could see her smile spread over her lips before she pressed her lips back against mine, murmuring into our kiss, "I love you, Troy." I smiled into the kiss, murmuring in return, "I love you, Gabriella." She laid down on my chest, snuggling more into me as she pulled the blankets back up over us. She laid with her head on my chest and her leg wrapped around mine. I felt her soft yawn flow over my chest, first the intake of cool air then the gentle exhale of warmth that followed. I ran my fingers through her hair, closing my eyes. She wasn't going to make a move to put her shirt on and neither was I. I didn't mind. Sure, I knew that would result in another hardon through the night or more, but I didn't mind. She was comfortable, and that's all that mattered right now. I kissed the top of her head and smiled, loving having her right here in my arms, just like this.


	6. No Matter What

I had spent the morning with Troy. He came over to see me the moment I woke up. I couldn't believe he was awake so early. I couldn't sleep past seven. When I woke up, there was a text waiting for me on my phone. _Can't sleep. Text me when you wake. _When he got to my place, I asked him what time he had woken up. He told me hadn't slept a wink. I'd barely gotten three hours of sleep, having not fallen asleep until four o'clock. But then again, I had been awake practically the whole night before. I was ready to pass out by the time Troy dropped me off. I had wished that we could get a hotel, even here in town, but I knew both of our parents wanted us home. We ate breakfast together. Mom had left for work, having traded shifts so she could be to the family dinner tonight at Troy's house, so we had the entire place to ourselves. After breakfast, we did what any normal couple would do. We fell asleep on the couch. We hadn't meant to. We laid down to watch Sunday morning cartoons on the Disney Channel. Phineas and Ferb were off doing something incredibly smart for seven year olds and their older sister Candace was calling their mom to tell on them. I didn't understand why. She probably was jealous that they were so smart and she wasn't, but I was sure if she wanted to join in, they'd gladly let her. I thought that way because my sister Carmen was always including me when I asked. I knew that she had her own things and there had been times that I had felt left out, but when I wanted to spend time with her, she always made time for me.

Carmen was almost eight years older than me. She had graduated from high school a year after Mom and Dad got divorced. She didn't move around as much as Mom and me did. She had gone up to attend Seattle University near where Dad was living at the time and she just decided to stay. We didn't see much of her since then, especially when she was living with Dad. Mom and he didn't get along that well after the divorce and they had decided it best if they don't spend much time around each other. I saw him maybe a few times when I had gone up to visit him and Carmen, but I hadn't been up there at all in the last four years since Carmen graduated. She had a place of her own now, Dad had moved back East, and Mom still hasn't been up to visit Carmen yet. I guess with her job transfer, she's trying to make up for all that. It wasn't more than a day's drive up there from Palo Alto, a very long day's drive, but it wasn't that far away. Troy and I could take a weekend and go up there. I would hope that Carmen would let us stay with her and mom wouldn't have to worry about the "appearance of evil" in her own home. She'd probably tell Carmen she shouldn't let us stay together at her place, but I'm sure Carmen understands and will let us. Even if she doesn't believe in premarital sex, if I told her we weren't doing anything, I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Or at least I hoped. I didn't know all that well. I didn't know if she had sex or not, whether she believed in keeping her virginity until marriage or what. Last time I saw her, I wasn't ready to talk about sex. Troy and I barely spoke about it now, and the last time I had seen Carmen had barely been three years after what happened with Mom, so I wasn't about to talk to her about sex, even if she felt comfortable enough talking to me.

Troy and I woke up to the sound of my cell phone ringing on the coffee table. "Your phone, baby," Troy's voice came sleepily from his chest where I was laying and above my head through his lips. I snuggled more into him. "Let the voicemail get it," I grumbled. I felt his silent laughter ripple through his chest and smiled as I looked up at him. "We fell asleep," I said, more as an observation than anything. He opened his eyes, smiling down at me. "Yes, we did." I felt him stretch as he turned more to me, pulling me more against him. "I don't want to get up," I told him, hugging him gently. "I love you, Troy," I smiled up at him. He ran his fingers through my hair, cupping my face as I leaned up closer to him, kissing him gently. "I love you," Troy whispered against my lips. "What time is it?" I asked, looking up at the clock. "Wow!" My eyes widened and I looked back down at him. "It's almost time for dinner at your parents' house." Troy looked up at the clock, widening his eyes, looking back down at me. "Wow!" he repeated my astonishment, laughing as he pulled me back to him. "Maybe we could just tell them we fell asleep and didn't wake up," he suggested, letting his hand rub my back softly. I giggled softly, closing my eyes again as I rested my head back against his chest. "No, we can't, Troy." He kissed the top of my head, laughing softly with me. "I know. It would be nice though." I looked back up at him, resting my chin on my hand over his chest softly. "Maybe we could go out afterward. Just the two of us." He nodded, running his fingers through my hair. "Anywhere you'd like to go?" I shook my head lightly, smiling up at him. "No. I just want to be alone with you." He smiled, leaning forward and pressing his lips to mine.

"Dios mio!" I heard my mom's voice from behind the couch and jumped. I could feel Troy's laughter rumble through his chest, but no sound escaped his lips. "Mom!" I gasped, sitting up on Troy's lap, my hands gripped at his. "Mija! I didn't know you were home!" I swallowed, shifting myself off of Troy's lap to sit beside him on the couch as he sat up. "When did you get home from work, Mom?" Mom looked to Troy and smiled slightly. "Welcome home, Troy!" He nodded, smiling over at me and then back at my mom. "Thanks. It's good to be back." She smiled at him and then looked back at me. "I got home from work about a half an hour ago. I didn't know you were here." I swallowed, taking a short breath. "We fell asleep watching TV." I looked to the TV. Hannah Montana was on now. I leaned forward, picking up the remote and turning it off. "We still on for dinner at your parents' house, Troy?" Mom asked and I looked over at him. He nodded up at her. "Yes, Ma'am. In fact, I'm sure Mom will be setting the table pretty soon. We could all go over in my truck?" I smiled brightly, looking up to my mom to see if she'd approve. She smiled, nodding slightly. "That sounds like a good idea, Troy. I'll go get my things." She looked back over at me, giving me an odd look before heading upstairs. I looked back at Troy, biting my lip. He slid closer to me, tucking my hair behind my ear. "You alright, baby?" I turned my head into his hand as he rested it on the side of my face. "I don't think she likes knowing that we fell asleep together here." He looked up at the stairs and then back at me quizzically. "We just took a nap, not even on purpose. Why would she not like it?" I sighed softly, shaking my head gently. "'Avoid the appearance of evil, Mija,'" I told him, repeating the words my mother has said time after time. He narrowed his eyes on me and I took a deep breath, grimacing slightly. "She's afraid we're going to have sex in her house." Troy nodded, pulling me closer to him. "I understand." I laid my head against his shoulder and he let his hand rub my back softly. "I should probably get my shoes on," I said quietly.

* * *

I let her stand up and she went upstairs to get her shoes on and I waited downstairs for both Gabriella and Mrs. Montez. I couldn't believe how much sex was a part of our conversations lately. It seemed to be all we talked about. And after last night, after we had made out last night, no shirts on, touching each other the way we did, there wasn't anything else I could think about. Hell, I was a guy. There was only one thing I could think about at a time, and when I wasn't thinking about anything else, I was thinking about last night. God, the way her breasts felt in my hands, against my neck, rubbing up against my chest. I was getting hard and I knew I needed to stop. Gabriella or her mom would be coming back down those stairs in a matter of moments and that was the last thing I needed was for either of them to know what I was thinking. Gabriella, yes I could handle her knowing that she had turned me on, now that we'd really talked about it and we had a clearer understanding about our physical relationship. But there was no way in hell I could be like this if her mother were to come down those stairs to find me turned on because of her daughter, especially after we had just been laying here with her and after what Gabriella had just said about even avoiding the appearance of evil, I didn't want to upset Mrs. Montez anymore than she already was. Taking a deep breath, I tried to think about anything but Gabriella. I thought about dinner at my parents' house. I knew that we'd be talking about the trip, about the places Gabriella and I would be living, about what we did while we were gone. Still, I came back to what we had done last night. Not that it would while we were at my parents' place, but it wasn't as though I could distance my thoughts from it. Gabriella was right. Sleeping without her was going to be miserable. I hadn't been able to sleep at all last night and I was sure that I wasn't going to be able to sleep any night without her from now on either. She was the one who was telling me she didn't know how she was going to be able to and now I was the one who was feeling it.

"Troy?" Gabriella's voice snapped me back into reality and I looked up at her as she came down the stairs. "You alright?" I looked down at my lap, finding that my cock had returned to normal. I looked back up at her, nodding. "Fine. I was just thinking." She sat on the back of the couch, reaching out and placing her hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her as she asked, "What about?" I smirked up at her, swallowing and shaking my head. "I don't think you wanna know," I winked at her. "Not right now, anyway." She let her hand drop from my shoulder, a redness filling her cheeks as she bit her lip. "Oh…" I stood up, walking around the couch to press my lips to her forehead softly, wrapping my arm around her shoulders softly. "Told you." She looked up at me, taking my hand in hers as it hung off of her shoulders. "I don't mind. You can think about that." She was still blushing, maybe even more so now, and I leaned down to press my lips to hers. "Ok, I am all ready to go," Mrs. Montez's voice came with her footsteps down the stairs and Gabriella and I pulled away from each other, me wiping my lips slightly, feeling a little nervous to be kissing her daughter in front of her now. Not that I hadn't ever been before, but after what Gabriella had said and what I had just been thinking about Gabriella and me, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Even though Mrs. Montez had always supported Gabriella and me being together, I was sure she didn't want me thinking about her daughter the way I was. I was sure no parent wanted someone thinking about their child the way I was thinking about Gabriella. She came to the bottom of the stairs, looking up from where she was rummaging through her purse. "Ready?" Gabriella nodded, taking my hand smiling between the two of us. "All ready, Mom!" I admired how cool she could be. Smiling myself, I coughed slightly and held my other hand out to both of them. "After you two." It was their house, but I was still a gentleman. Mrs. Montez stepped to the door and Gabriella lead me out through it as Mrs. Montez locked it up behind us and we each made our way to my truck parked I the driveway. Gabriella sat beside me and Mrs. Montez sat by the door as we drove to my place for dinner.

Mom ran out the back door as we pulled up into the driveway at my place almost fifteen minutes later, wrapping her arms around Gabriella. "Oh, I've missed you, honey! I'm so glad you're home!" Gabriella laughed softly at me over my mom's shoulder and I shook my head. "This is the same welcome home I got when I got back last night," I told her and she laughed some more as my mom stepped back, smiling over at Mrs. Montez and giving her a hug. "I did the same thing, Lucille," Mrs. Montez told my mom and I took Gabriella's hand, leading her in front of our mothers inside of the house. "Well, I'm just glad to have them home!" Mom said as we walked in the door, finding Dad coming down the stairs into the kitchen. "There she is!" he said, making his way over to us. "Hi, Coach Bolton!" He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug like my mom had outside, as mom shut the door behind us. "What's this '_Coach Bolton'_? Call me Jack!" He laughed, pulling back and patting me on the back. Gabriella giggled softly again, nodding. "Hi, Jack." Dad looked over at the table and then back at the rest of us. "Dinners ready! Let's sit down. We'll eat and you two can tell us all about your trip and about Berkeley and Stamford!" We all agreed and took our places at the table. Dad at one head, Mom at the other. Me beside Dad, Gabriella beside me and Mrs. Montez across the table from Gabriella beside my mom. Mom had made Tuna Casserole, fresh bread and green beans. "This really is good, Lucille," Mrs. Montez told my mom as we all ate. Gabriella and I held each other's hands underneath the table. They spoke about how they had spent a lot of the time while we had been gone together, mostly meals, they had also gone out shopping together once while we were gone. I was glad our mothers were becoming good friends. It was going to be sad when Mrs. Montez moved up to Seattle, but that didn't mean that they had to stop being friends. Distance didn't have to keep people from being friends. I was still going to be friends with Chad. Gabriella was still going to be friends with Taylor. Just because we were going to be thousands of miles away from them, didn't mean that we weren't going to be friends anymore. Telephones and email were wonderful inventions, plus, I'm sure we'd visit each other. It's not like we'd never see each other again.

We told them out our new places at the colleges. Gabriella told them she had a two bedroom place but no roommate yet. She'd probably expect to have one by the time we got up there in a few weeks, but we'd have to see when we got there. Mom didn't like that I was going to be staying alone while I was up there, but I told her I preferred that, especially for studying purposes. Besides, if I was ever going to bring Gabriella up there, I wasn't going to want a roommate around when I just wanted to be alone with my girlfriend. Of course, I didn't tell our parents that. They didn't need to know what I was thinking about Gabriella and me being alone, even if I'm sure they were all worried about it without anyone having to say it. They were all glad that we weren't going to be too far away from each other though. Mrs. Montez was especially thankful for it. She didn't want her baby girl to be farther away from her than just down the hall, but knowing that I was less than an hour's drive away made her feel somewhat better. Myself, I felt the same way as Gabriella did. It wasn't close enough. It never would be close enough. But I had promised her that we'd get through it and we would. We weren't going to let distance get the better of us. We loved each other and we were going to see each other as often as possible and talk to each other on the phone every night. It wasn't going to be like it was the last few days or how it was while we lived here in Albuquerque, but we were going to make it work. We had promised each other. That's all that mattered.

* * *

We finished dinner and Troy and I told everyone we were going out. They didn't want us to go, but we told them we'd be back. Troy's mom said she'd give my mom a ride home and not to worry about it, so we didn't have to worry about coming back too soon. It wasn't as though we wanted to come back too soon anyway, but we would have to give Mom a ride home though. But we just wanted to be out by ourselves tonight. We'd been alone for days and after spending a night away from each other, we were almost in withdrawal from each other. It was crazy, and we knew it, but we couldn't get enough of each other. Troy parked the truck at the park and we walked out and laid down on the grass, looking up at the stars. "Remember when I said I wish time would just slow down… to a stop?" I asked, after we'd been laying there for a while. Troy pulled me closer to him and I laid my head on his chest, closing my eyes and turning my face more into his shirt. "I remember." It was the night before I left or Stamford. How could he not remember? I had hurt him that night. I never wanted to hurt him like that again. "I still feel like that at times," I told him silently. I felt him tense up beneath me and I turned to look up at him, shaking my head. "I didn't mean it like that," I whispered softly, placing a hand on his face gently. "I just don't want to miss a single moment with you, Troy." He leaned forward, pressing his lips softly to mine. "I don't want to miss anything with you either, Gabriella." I smiled softly down at him and he sat up, pulling me to sit with him. "I want to give you something," he said, sitting more straightly, pulling me to sit on his lap. I looked down at him from where I sat on his lap. "What are you doing, Wildcat?" I smiled up at me. "Close your eyes," he told me. I gave him a quizzical look and then closed my eyes, smiling softly.

I felt Troy take my hand and my confusion grew as he slid a ring over my finger as he said, "Open your eyes." I opened my eyes, looking down at my middle finger. I saw his class ring sitting there on the middle of my hand. It was loose as it sat there, but I didn't mind. It was on my hand and it was perfect. I looked up at him and I could feel the tears burning in my eyes. "Troy?" It was all that would come from my lips. I swallowed, keeping the tears at bay. "It's not much. Not even really a promise ring, but it says you're mine…" he said, his voice trailing off as I looked back up into his eyes. I shook my head. "Not much?" I shook my head. "Troy! It's perfect! I love it!" I had his necklace with the "T" for "Troy" and now I had his class ring that made me his as well. "Thank you!" I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me and pressing my lips to his as I kissed him deeply. His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me more against him as we kissed even more. I didn't need a promise ring from him. I didn't even need this ring. I didn't need the necklace he had given me more than a year ago. I didn't need any of the countless gifts he had given me, but I knew he gave them to me because he loved me and he wanted me to know that. I was his and I would always be his. All the miles between us wasn't going to change that. We were always going to be together no matter what.


	7. Staying Strong

I couldn't believe we had three more days before Troy and I left for California. Three more days? Taylor was leaving for Yale on the red eye tonight. That's why we were all meeting at Blake's Lotaburger tonight for dinner. It wasn't the nicest place in town, but we all loved the place. It was going to be Taylor, Chad, Troy and me. We had a party with everyone else a few weeks after school had gotten out and most everyone else had already moved away and was already getting ready for school to start on Monday. I wasn't ready for school to start. Well, I was. I wasn't ready to be away from Troy. I was ready for classes, but I wanted Troy to be there with me. But for now I was spending the few hours we had before meeting up at Blake's not thinking about Troy, not thinking about school and just spending time with my best friend who I wasn't going to be seeing till God knows when. We were laying on my bed looking over the map on the Internet of the campus at Yale. She was showing me where all of her classes are and where here dorm was. She was going to be staying on campus near most of her classes. "The only class I have that isn't near my dorm is over here," she said indicating a building near the other end of the campus, "but I've got plenty of time after lunch and study time in the library to get there before class even starts." I smiled. She always had her schedule laid out to a T with plenty of room for leeway. She was always so efficient.

I looked at Taylor, having really started to get really sad about my time here coming to an end, all the times I've told Troy I've just wanted it to come to a stop really wanting it to today just really started affecting me. Troy and Chad would be picking us up to go down to Blake's in about fifteen minutes and then after this we would be dropping her off at the airport and she'd be gone. I didn't know the next time I'd be seeing her. I missed her already. Yes, we'd be staying in touch via email and texting and the phone, but it wasn't the same. It wasn't the same as missing Troy, but it was pretty close. I took a deep breath when she looked up at me and sighed. "Let's not do this, Gabby. We'll see each other again soon." I nodded, reaching over and placing my hand on hers on her bed. "I know we will," I told her. I was used to these goodbyes. But this was her leaving this time. Yes, I was leaving in three days, but she was leaving first. It was slightly different. "It's just hard, Tay." She pulled me into a hug and I could hear the sadness in her voice. "You will always be my best friend, Gabriella. Just because we're three thousand miles away from each other, doesn't change anything." I laughed shortly. There was the difference between her and me and Troy and me. Troy and I had figured out the difference between distances of our colleges down to the point mileage. We had to know just how far away we'd be from each other. With Tay and me it was just a generic. We weren't as worried. With Troy and me, it was different.

I knew that it wasn't going to change anything for the most part, but everything was going to change, and I really wasn't ready for it. I was about ready to clean up my bed and get ready to go when Taylor grabbed my hand. "Gabriella!" I'd had Troy's ring on my finger for more than a week, but I hadn't seen Taylor more than a few times since Troy and I had returned from settling our housing at Stanford and Berkeley. So when she started freaking out over my hand and staring down at it like it was a diamond, I was almost confused. "What does this mean?" I smiled, pursing my lips and looking down at Troy's class ring on my finger. "I guess, it really doesn't mean anything," I told her, her eyes narrowing in on me, sure I wasn't telling her the truth. "Right. Just like your necklace doesn't mean anything. Just like Troy Bolton deciding to go to Berkeley instead of UofA like everyone thought he was, like I'm even sure HE thought he was until he realized he couldn't live without a certain SOMEONE doesn't mean anything." She held up my hand as if to thrust the ring closer into my eyesight. "This means something! All of it does! But seriously, what does this mean?" I pulled my hand from hers, smiling at her before I looked back at Troy's ring on my middle finger. I had to take it off when I went to sleep because I didn't want to lose it. In fact, I made extra special care not to lose it during the day. I kept my hand closed at all times, unless he was holding my hand. I wasn't losing this ring for the life of me. But I didn't want to get a chain to wear it around my neck. I wanted it on my hand, so yes, it definitely meant something. "It means I'm his girl," I told her, and I couldn't help but blush. She sat up on the bed, looking down at me. "Oh, girl, come on! Everyone knows you're his girl. That necklace SHOWS your his girl. Everyone who sees it who doesn't know the two of you will ask about it. This ring is different."

She was right. It was different. I sat up with her, holding my hand in my other hand, placing it in my lap. "The ring shows I'm his too, even if it's not a promise ring," I told her, unable to look at her when the words came out of my mouth. "Gabriella Marie Montez, are you saying what I think you're saying?" My best friend was as into the details about everything as I was, but sometimes, even with something this romantic, she had to be especially scrutinizing on the details. She needed to know if that meant what I had meant. And I had. I looked up at her, unable to keep the blush from my cheeks as I told her, "Troy said he wants to be with me for the rest of his life. We even discussed," I took a deep breath, knowing I was going to get a bigger reaction than necessary when I told her this, but I was telling her what she wanted to know, "marriage while we were in California." Taylor's eyes grew as large as saucers and her mouth opened widely. "Oh, my God!" I shook my head, biting my lip. "Don't make too much out of it, Tay. It's not going to be happening for a long time. Years even." She shook her head, grabbing my hand again, the same hand, my left hand, with the ring on it. "But he still said he wants to marry you!" I nodded my head, short quick tiny nods. "Yes." She threw her arms around me. "I knew it! I knew it!" She pulled back from the hug quickly, looking me dead in the eyes. "Let me just say for the record, I'm glad you're not getting married NOW! Like anytime soon, because yes, it's just too soon, but I loooove that he's told he he wants to marry you!" She let go of her arms, shaking her head. "I have to admit, Gabriella," she said, all serious now and matter-of-factly, "I never thought Troy Bolton would ever have a girlfriend. I'm sure no one ever thought he'd get married, but you changed the unchangeable." I looked down at Troy's ring and then back up at her. I wasn't quite sure that was true. Troy had always been the same guy with me from the moment I met him. Yes, he was different around his friends, but with me, he was always the same Troy I had met at the New Year's Eve party in Vail, Colorado. I knew he didn't change for me, even if he thought he did. I just helped him be who he truly and completely was in front of everyone.

"What's unchangeable?" I heard Chad's voice behind me before turning to see him and Troy walking into my bedroom. "Hey!" I said, jumping off the bed and wrapping my arms around Troy. "I didn't hear the doorbell," I said, wrapping my arms around him. Chad sat down on my bed beside Taylor, answering my inquiry as Troy pulled me closer to him. "Your mom was out bringing in groceries," Chad explained but he was already talking with Taylor quietly as well. Troy added, "Chad and I helped." I turned my head up, looking up into his prisitne blue eyes, smiling brightly. "That's so sweet of you!" He simply nodded, shrugging his shoulders and I giggled softly as he pressed his lips gently against mine. "Lord, would you two get a room?" Chad said. We all knew he was joking, but Troy, being who he his, played right along with him. "Actually, the room is Gabriella's, and you two are hoggin' the bed." I giggled, shaking my head and burying my face into his shirt. "Troy!" I felt his laughter ripple through his chest and couldn't help but laugh more myself. Taylor knew Troy and I hadn't made love yet. She knew we had gotten close, and that it hadn't even been an accident, but we still hadn't gone all the way. She and Chad on the other hand, even though it wasn't any of my business, had done it a long time ago. She told me when they did it the first time that she knew it was the right time and told me not to do it until I was sure I knew it was time for Troy and me. She even told me I'd know when the time was right. I hadn't even told her that Troy and I hadn't been together at that time, that we'd barely made out, but she just knew. She wasn't my best friend for nothing.

"We have your bags in my SUV too, babe," Chad told Taylor and she started to put her stuff into her bag. I looked over at her. We'd be going to have dinner at Blake's and it wouldn't be long after that we'd be dropping her off at the airport. I didn't like this night. I didn't care how it had to happen, I wasn't going to want to sleep without Troy's arms around me tonight. I was really going to miss my best friend. I was always the one to move away, not the other way around. Yes, I was moving in a few days as well, but it still felt backwards and was still painful. I was sure that's why when I'd made friends before they had felt this bad when I'd had to move. That's why after a while I stopped making friends, or at least close ones. Danica was the last really close friend I had made before Taylor, but I was going to make sure that I stayed in touch with Taylor far more than on FaceBook the way I did with Danica. Danica and I even had each other's phone numbers now, but I didn't know how much more I'd stay in contact with her than I did. Maybe in time we'd communicate more, texting, maybe we'd talk on the phone occasionally, but Taylor and I were closer than I'd been to anyone, except for Troy, and I wasn't going to lose communication with her, even all the way across the country. "Good, we should get going." She was staying stronger than I was, and I was glad for that. If she didn't, I'd break down on her, more than I had a little while ago. I knew when we said goodbye at the airport I was going to cry. I knew it. And I wasn't one to really cry, not that often anyway, but I knew I would. That's why I'd need Troy tonight. I needed him every night, but with my best friend leaving, I would especially need to sleep in his arms tonight, and I didn't care what we had to do to make that happen. I would be in his arms tonight.

* * *

We pulled into Blake's and I hopped out of the back of Chad's SUV, reaching up to help Gabriella down beside me. "Thank you," she said, smiling up at me as I took her hand and shut the door. Chad hadn't been fast enough to open Taylor's door and he complained to her about all the way into the burger joint. I rolled my eyes, looking down at Gabriella, chuckling slightly to myself. She shook her head, holding my arm close against her side. I traded hands, taking her hand in my other one as I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her closer to me, resting my head against the side of hers. "Know what you'd like to eat?" She looked up at the menu, laying her head back against my chest. Even though we'd probably eaten here at least once a week over the past year and a half, we still looked at the menu. It wasn't even as though there was a lot to choose from. I was sure I could name exactly everything that was on the menu board from top to bottom, left to right. And I wasn't even the smartest of the bunch. "I think I'll just have the Itsa Combo with seasoned fries and a strawberry shake instead of a drink." I nodded, kissing the top of her head, asking against her ear, "Jalepeńos as usual on the burger?" She giggled, shaking her head as she turned her face to look up at me. "Of course." I kissed the side of her mouth. "And a brownie? We can share." She smiled, pulling my arm more around her. "I'd like that. Thank you." I kissed her again. "No thanks necessary. I know what my girl likes." She giggled again and the cashier asked if we knew what we wanted. I stepped closer with Gabriella still in my embrace, coming up to the counter to order. "The pretty little lady will have an Itsa Combo with jalepeńos on the burger, season fries and strawberry shake for her drink." I felt her shove her ass back agaisnt me, cursing me for calling her _pretty little lady_ to the cashier, but I didn't mind. She was. I laughed shortly and added my order, "And I'll have a Lotsa Combo, season fries as well and a Dew. We'd also like a brownie, with a cherry on top." The cashier didn't know I was playing with him, but Gabriella did, and she shook her head, "Just ignore him. He doesn't want the cherry." I laughed, looking down at her. "Oh, yes, I do!" She looked up at me, unable to keep from laughing herself. "Will you just pay the guy so they can get our order out to us?" I laughed, letting go of her hand for the moment to take my wallet out of my pocket, holding it up in front of us, slipping my card out of its slot. "Here," I said, handing it to her. She shook her head, taking the card and handing it to the cashier. He swiped the card, and pulled off the receipt for me to sign and I took the pen he handed to me, keeping Gabriella between my arms. "Hold this," I asked, letting her hold my wallet. I heard her softly giggle again as I signed the slip and handed it and the pen back to the cashier. He handed me my card and I handed it to Gabriella and she slipped it back into it's spot before shutting my wallet and handing it back to me. "Thank you!" I said, kissing the side of her head and putting it back in my pants pocket.

We had our food a few minutes later and were sitting in our booth, the one we usually sat in when we came in here. Some nights the place was busy and we didn't get this table, but it was where we usually sat. We all ate, talking about how much our parents were driving us crazy these last few days before we all left for college. Taylor was glad it was over, but she was sure the next thing she heard over the phone would be was how much they missed her. She said it was the same thing her sister had gotten when she left for college, and she knew she'd get the same thing. Chad and I were only children, so we didn't know what it was like to have a sibling leave before us, but both of our mothers were already begging us not to go, and Chad was even staying here in Albuquerque. He'd be staying in the dorms, but his mom was even trying to talk him out of that. My mom hadn't even tried to talk me out of going to Berkeley, because she knew exactly why I had made that decision to go there. She wasn't about to keep me from being near my girl. Dad had tried to get me to choose UofA like we'd always discussed while I was growing up when he heard I was looking into other colleges, but when he found out where I was going as well and why, he backed down too. My parents knew what Gabriella means to me and neither of them were going to stand in our way of being together, even if there was still 32.7 miles between us, I was going up there so we could still be together. If I hadn't, I knew Gabriella would still be doing all she could to distance herself from me, making the distance that much _easier_ on me. But I hoped I had proved to her by now that even the 32.7 miles I was going to be away from her wasn't going to be easy on either of us.

We'd all talked quite a bit except for Gabriella, and I knew why. We had spent hours last night laying in her hammock in her backyard, her head on my chest talking about how much she was going to miss Taylor. I knew the closer we got to dropping her off at the airport, the closer her tears were coming to the surface. She was trying her hardest not to cry, but I wouldn't blame her if she couldn't hold them in any longer. I knew Taylor was her best friend and I knew how close they were. She was probably closer to her than she was her own sister. I wasn't going to let her cry without being there for her though after Taylor left. I knew she was going to have a hard night, and no matter what it took, even if it meant sneaking into her room, or sneaking her into mine, I was going to spend the night with her tonight. We finished eating and left Blake's. I held Gabriella against my side as we drove to the airport. Security woudn't allow us to go to the gate with her, but Chad parked the SUV anyway and we walked her into the airport, each carrying a bag for her to check-in. There wasn't a long line, being this late at night. Not that 9:45 was late in the night, but it was getting close to the redeye flights and not many people flew at night. I let Gabriella walk with Taylor as we walked toward security where we'd say our goodbyes. She held her arm tightly around Taylor's side and Taylor kept her arm wrapped around Gabriella's shoulders, her head rested against hers. "They'll be fine," Chad said, pulling Taylor's carryon more onto his shoulder as he walked beside me. I turned my head to look at him before looking back at the girls, shaking my head. "Yeah, I know. I just know this has gotta be hard on them," I said, knowing I meant it was going to be hard on Gabriella, but it had to be hard on Taylor too. I'd be telling Chad goodbye in a few days, but it wasn't going to be anything like this. We were guys. We knew just because we didn't see each other every day didn't mean that we still didn't have each others backs, that we weren't still each other's best friend. I was sure Gabriella and Taylor knew that as well, they just didn't know how to accept things as guys did.

The girls stopped just short of security and turned back to us. "This is it," Taylor said. I could see the tears already glistening in Gabriella's eyes. I could tell a few had fallen from her eyes, but she wasn't allowing more than that to fall. She was being strong, even though she didn't have to, she was. I'd let her fall apart later, and a part of me knew she would, even if she did fall apart right here saying goodbye to Taylor. I decided I'd say goodbye first, since I was... well, what was I? Gabriella's boyfriend? Chad's best friend? Techically I'm sure in a way that made me a best friend-in-law? Sure, I knew there was no such thing. We were friends, not beyond any reason other than Gabriella and Chad, but we were friends. Truth be told, I was sure she had hated me before Gabriella showed up. I was sure she'd hated Chad before Gabriella moved into town. I knew the reason we were friends, the reason Chad was able to grow a set and actually ask Taylor out, was because of Gabriella. So many things were different because of Gabriella and I wouldn't change a single one of them, even if that meant someone like Taylor didn't hate some one like me anymore. I stepped forward to shake her hand but she looked at Gabriella, rooling her eyes, before grabbing my hand pulling me forward. "Silly boy! Give me a hug!" I laughed, doing as she asked, or rather demanded, even though her arms were already tightly wrapped around me. "You take care of my girl, you hear me?" She spoke against my ear and my eyes widened. As if she hadn't already surprised me with the hug, her warning sure did. She pulled back, looking up at me, her eyes burrowing a hole deep into mine. "I know you will," she said, smiling up at me. I laughed. It hadn't been a warning, per se. She was just looking out for her best friend, and I couldn't and didn't blame her at all. Taking a step back, I let her turn back to Gabriella. I knew she'd save Chad for last. She'd want the most time with him, and I didn't blame her for that either. If I was the one leaving, I'd want the most time with Gabriella, and Chad would have to understand that. I'm sure he would.

* * *

"You didn't just give Troy the best friend warning, did you?" I asked, trying to laugh, failing horribly. Taylor did laugh however. "Of course, I did, sweetheart! Do you think I'd let my best friend down and NOT let her boyfriend know I'd make him wish he wasn't born if he ever hurt you!" I bit my lip, shaking my head. She knew she had nothing to worry about, but it was what we did as friends, as sisters. "I love you, Tay," I whispered, wrapping my arms around her tightly. "I love you too, Gabby!" she said, hugging me just as tightly. "And you can cry all you want. You've got nice strong arms to turn to as soon as I leave." I pulled back, to look at her, still keeping my arms around her. "You have no idea how much I am going to miss you, Taylor!" She nodded her head, a few tears escaping from her eyes, pulling me back into hug me again. "Oh, yes, I do!" I knew if I cried any more than I already was, she'd cry, and I didn't want that. We were girls, we were allowed to cry, but Taylor cried even less than I did. I'd probably never seen her cry. She was always so strong, but seeing the tears in her eyes right now, I knew she was having as hard of a time keeping it together as I was. "Call me when you get settled in California, alright?" she asked, pulling back and pushing my hair back over my shoulder. "I will," I promised. I was sure we'd talk, at least by text, before then, but she knew we'd both be busy between now and then, so that was the next time we knew we'd be able to really talk.

I took a step away from her, feeling Troy's arms wrap around me as Taylor took Chad's hand and they both walked a little closer to the security checkpoint. I wasn't going to break down, not now, not when Tay could still see me, and I knew if I turned into Troy's arms, that's exactly what'd I'd do. I'd start balwing right here and I didn't want to do that in front of her. Troy kissed the top of my head and I closed my eyes, a few more tears falling from my eyes. "You'll see her soon," he whispered against the top of my head and I held his arms tighter around me. I didn't know how soon would be, but I knew he was trying to make me feel better, trying to keep me together. Taylor was crying now as Chad pulled her into his arms, not much, but more than she had allowed herself to with me. I smiled softly at the two of them. They were a silent couple, one that weren't really big on PDAs, aside from holding hands, but here in the middle of the airport, as they were saying goodbye, neither of them seemed to care. She let him hold her and kiss her and he even did something that surprised me. He wiped her tears away from her face before kissing her one more time. She stepped away from him and smiled over at Troy and me, waving before looking back at Chad. Troy turned me around and we started walking back toward Chad's SUV. I didn't know what I'd do without him. I would have just stood there until I couldn't see her anymore, and that would have been even harder than walking away first. He held me close against his side and I wrapped my arms tightly around his chest, whispering, "I love you, Troy." He kissed the top of my head softly, speaking softly against the top of my head, "I love you, Gabriella."

Chad didn't mind Troy sitting in the backseat with me as we left the airport. We were all quiet for a while until we got out on the freeway. "Hey, what'd you say you two spend the night over at my place tonight?" Chad asked almost out of nowhere, his voice the first to penetrate the darkness. "My parents are out of town till Sunday and I'm sure they wouldn't mind anyway." I looked up at Troy in the darkness, the only light coming from the car lights and lamp posts lining the freeway. I wanted to be alone tonight with Troy, and staying the night at Chad's was as close to that as I was sure we were going to get. "Sure, man," Troy said, nodding. He didn't even have to ask me. He knew my answer would be yes. "Just head on to your place, we'll text our parents and let them know we're not coming home." Even though we were both eighteen, we were both still living with our parents and it was polite to tell them we weren't coming home for the night. I didn't think mom would have a problem with me staying over at Chad's with Troy. Even if it wasn't much different than spening the night at Troy's place or him staying in my room with me, she had let us go to California together. I didn't expect to get a text back from her about avoiding the appearance of evil. There were levels to her religious views and even though I was sure I knew them, I didn't understand them. But that didn't matter. Not right now. I was going to spend the night with Troy and it didn't matter where. We each pulled out our phones, texting our parents. I knew his parents didn't text much, but he'd at least get an _OK_ back from them. My mom would be at work, but she'd still be able to text me back. And she did a few minutes later. _Sure, Mija. Love you. _It was simple. I hoped she understood that I missed Tay, that we all did, and that's what this was about. Eventhough I was eightteen, I still wanted her to accept and approve of what I did. I was sure I always would.

Chad parked in the garage connected to his house twenty minutes later and Troy helped me out like always did. We followed Chad into the house and Troy shut the door behind us. I'd probably been here twice since I'd known Chad, but he was almost like an older brother to me, and his parents treated me so warmly whenever I was around them. His mom had told me to make myself at home the first time I'd come over, and I wasn't even going to be there more than ten minutes then. They were really nice people and I was glad I knew them. "You guys want anything to eat? Drink?" I shook my head and Troy answered for both of us, patting his friend on the back. "No thanks, man. Why don't we all just go to bed? It's late." Chad nodded and I could tell he really didn't even want to talk about it. He was missing Taylor as much as I was... Maybe more. It was different. He was missing Taylor the same way I missed Troy when I had gone to Stanford for the Freshman Honors Program. But he wasn't a girl. He wouldn't want to talk about it. Guys didn't talk about things, and if they did, they did it while they shot hoops. They didn't sit down with a big tub of ice cream and cry. When he was ready to talk, he and Troy would be out back shooting hoops, even if it was at four a.m. That's just what guys did. I wouldn't complain though. If things were reversed and Troy and I were at Taylor's house and Chad was gone, I knew Troy wouldn't complain when Taylor needed me. I knew that scenario would never happen, but I knew Troy would never complain. I needed my boyfriend tonight, but his best friend needed him too. And not a part of that bothered me. Chad was pretty much like a big brother to me and I would share my boyfriend with him no problem. Besides, they'd been friends for far longer than I'd known either of them. It would be wrong of me to be selfish and keep Troy to myself.

"Mom keeps clean sheets on the bed," he said after we came to the top of the stairs, stopping in front of a door that was half open. Troy pushed the door open all the way, stepping in and I slowly stepped inside with him, my hand still in his. "Thanks, man. Get some sleep." He nodded, walking across the hall to his room. I felt bad for him. "Wait a minute, Troy," I spoke softly, stopping him from shutting the door. I walked back out into the hall, quickly catching up to Chad. "Hey," I said quietly, coming up beside him. He turned to me just as he came to his room. "Everything ok? Do you need me to get you something?" He offered, but I shook my head. He didn't need to do anything. "It's going to be alright," I told him, smiling softly as I stepped closer to him, wrapping my arms around him softly. I felt his arms slowly wrap around me and he took a deep breath, slowly releasing it, causing my hair to blow beside my ear. "Thank you, Gabriella," he whispered and I shook my head, still holding him in my arms. I knew he was missing her. I knew he needed her arms right now, but he couldn't have them. She would be boarding a plane in a matter of minutes and she'd be flying clear across the country. But I was here. Troy was here, and I wanted Chad to know that. I knew we'd be gone in a few days as well, but I knew that just for tonight, just for this moment, he needed to know that he wasn't alone. That's why he'd asked us to come over. I was sure of it. He didn't want to be alone and he needed to know that someone was here with him. And we were. "Troy and I are right down the hall if you need us," I told him, slowly pulling back. He nodded, looking down at me before shaking his head. "I know why you and Taylor are best friends," he said, smiling down at me. He didn't even say why. He didn't have to. I knew. We both did. It was just something that made sense, especially now that Taylor wasn't here and I was here for him. I was Troy's girlfriend as well, but I was Taylor's best friend, and aside from being Chad's friend as well, that was the real reason I was here for him. Taylor needed me to be for her. She hadn't asked me to. I was sure she had no idea he'd take her leaving this hard, but I should have known when I saw them saying goodbye at the airport that he would, and I guess a part of me did.

"I'll be alright. Go on," he said, tilting his head down the hall toward Troy. "I'll see you two in the morning." I smiled at him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze before walking back down the hall and back into the guest room. Chad went into his room and shut the door just as I walked into the room with Troy and he shut the door behind me, pulling me into his arms. "You're amazing, you know that?" I smiled, hugging him to me. "I'm just being my best friends best friend," I told him, smiling up at him. He nodded, "And you're amazing." I smiled, taking his hand and walking over to the bed with him. I was tired. I actually thought I'd be a ball of tears by now, but being strong for Chad had actually helped me. I still missed Taylor, but I wasn't feeling near as upset as I had been or as I thought I'd be. I was just really tired and I wanted to go to sleep in my boyfriend's arms. I turned to him after pulling the covers down, pulling his ring off and taking his hand again, sliding it back on his finger. "Wear this for me so I don't lose it while we sleep," I asked him, kissing his hand. Usually I sat it on my nightstand, but with him here with me, I'd rather he wear it. It wasn't until this moment that I stopped to think about what we were going to sleep in. I smiled up at him, laughing quietly. "I just realized we don't have anything to wear to bed." He seemed to stop and think for a moment before pulling his shirt over his head, holding it up to me. "You can sleep in my shirt. I'm fine in my boxers." I took his shirt from him, smiling brightly up at him as I leaned up to kiss him. "Thank you, Wildcat!" He nodded, stepping out of his shoes and undoing his pants. I pulled my shirt off and tossed it on the chair he tossed his pants on before undoing my shorts. "Lemme," he said, taking the zipper from my hands and sliding it down before pulling my shorts off my hips, helping me step out of them. He tossed them with our clothes on the chair and I turned my back to him, pulling my hair in front of my shoulder, looking back at him.

"Undo my bra for me?" I didn't need his help, but that didn't mean he didn't want to help me and that I didn't want him to. Undoing the clasp, he pulled both straps down off my shoulders and I felt his lips press softly against my back. I bit my lip, closing my eyes, not even stoping the soft moan as it escaped my lips. I let him pull the bra from my arms and felt him step up against my back, pulling me into his arms. "We could sleep like this," Troy suggested, but his voice didn't hold any suggstion of sleep in it. I knew he wanted me, and if I was completely honest, I wanted him too, but I knew I still wasn't ready yet. Even if this intimate contact had turned me on, I still wasn't ready. I had been turned on the last night in the hotel before we'd gotten home from California, but as turned on as I was, I didn't let go. I wasn't ready to, and he knew that. He didn't push me then and I knew he wouldn't push me now. "Not in Chad's house, Troy," I whispered, laying my head back agaisnt his chest. He leaned his head forward, kissing my shoulder, his hands rubbing at the tender skin below my breasts. His thumbs lightly brushed against the bottom off each of my breasts, and that was enough to really get me turned on, but I knew he wasn't doing that on purpose. He kissed the side of my neck before reaching for his shirt on the bed and pulling it over my head. I slid my arms through the holes and he pulled me closer to him. I smiled, laying my head back against his chest again. "I love you, Gabriella," he whispered, kissing the side of my mouth. Turning in his arms, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer to me, kissing him softly. "I love you, Troy," I whispered against his lips as he laid me down on the bed and pulled the covers over us. Whether I was ready to make love to Troy or not yet, didn't even mean I was comfortable enough to make out with him with his best friend right down the hall. I wanted to, but I knew I couldn't. He pulled back slowly, and I was sure he had sensed my hesitation. "Not in Chad's house?" I smiled, kissing his lips softly, curling up more agianst him. He was laying on his side, slightly laying agaisnt me, and I wanted to be closer to him, even if I didn't feel comfortable making out in Chad's house. "Not with Chad right down the hall." He took a deep breath, kissing my lips softly. "I understand, baby. I'll just hold you," he said, laying more against the bed, pulling me to rest against his chest. I pressed my lips softly against his chest, hugging him tightly, as tightly as I could with as tired as I was getting. "I love you, Troy! You're perfect!" I looked up at him, pressing my lips to his. "Not perfect, just in love," he said, pressing his lips back to mine. But he was perfect to me, just as I was amazing to him.


	8. Don't Wanna Miss a Thing

Gabriella probably had a harder time saying goodbye to her mom than I did saying goodbye to my parents even though her mom would be up to Seattle in the next month and they'd be seeing each other sooner than I'd be seeing my parents. The first game of the basketball season up at Berkeley wasn't until November and that was when they'd be coming up to see me. They couldn't get away until then. Dad still had his own games and classes to teach in Albuquerque and they couldn't leave whenever they liked, so they had to stay around here until then. And Gabriella's mother would be here in Albuquerque one more month until she moved up to Seattle, but saying goodbye to her was still hard on both of them. I was sure they hugged for at least an hour. But I didn't mind. I would have sat in the truck all day long waiting for Gabrielle. She's her mother. We had gone over to see Chad afterward. He was a little better than he had been when we had dropped Taylor off at the airport. They had barely let the phone down long enough to sleep so I knew they weren't missing each other that much. Chad was going to do just fine. Besides, he was leaving for the dorms tomorrow anyway. He was going to have plenty to keep his mind occupied he wasn't even going to be missing her too bad much longer.

Gabriella and I finally got out on the road a little after noon after stopping at Taco Bell. She got a Chalupa Supreme with carne asada steak, some Mexican rice and a strawberry Fruitista freeze to drink. I got two burrito supremes and cheesy fiesta potatoes, which Gabs fed to me while I drove, and a Mt. Dew Baja Blast. Gabriella rode sitting right beside me, my arm wrapped around her shoulders. We didn't talk much. We were both still thinking about saying goodbye to everyone in Albuquerque. Classes didn't start for three more days. Were were spending tonight in Barstow where I-40 met up with I-15 and then tomorrow and Saturday nights we'd be at Gabriella's new place. I'd leave late Sunday night for Berkeley, either that or I'd leave early Monday morning. My first class wasn't until 10:15. Gabriella's first class was at 8:05, so if I leave when she had to get up and get ready, I'd have plenty of time to leave and get up to my place and get ready to go. It would take me about an hour to get there in rush hour traffic and then I'd have an hour to get ready, but I didn't need that hour, so it would work out just fine. I probably wouldn't leave until Monday morning, and Gabriella probably wouldn't want me to either. If it were up to either of us, I wouldn't leave at all.

Gabriella looked over at me after we'd been driving a few hours and smiled softly. "Do you miss them? All of them?" I stretched slightly beside her, taking a deep breath, nodding slightly, turning my head and kissing her forehead, keeping my eyes on the freeway ahead of me. "Yeah. You know, they're our family. Our friends. Of course, I do." I glanced down at her. She had her head back on my chest, her hand resting on my stomach. I moved my hand where it rested at her side, picking up her hand and bringing it to my lips, kissing it gently before resting it back against my stomach below my heart and her head. "I know you do too," I said silently. She nodded against my chest, moving closer to me. "Life's going to be so different, Troy. I was so used to moving with my mom before we came to Albuquerque. But we were there for so long. And now it's just going to be me." I turned my head down toward her quickly for a moment before looking back down at the freeway. "Hey, I won't be too far away. You won't even know a difference." She looked up at me, sitting up a little bit. "Yes, I will, Troy. There will be a huge difference." I didn't know how to make things stay the same between us. There was going to be 32.7 miles between us that hadn't been there before.

We stopped in Kingman around eight for dinner. I was going to go to the Arby's drive-thru, but Gabriella suggested we go inside. We still had a few more hours to drive before we stopped for the night at Barstow, so we went inside. Gabriella ordered a regular roast beef sandwich, curly fries and a lemonade, I ordered a bacon cheddar roastburger, curly fries and a mountain dew. We sat on one side of a booth, both of us resting our feet on the other side, Gabriella resting her head on my shoulder. "Aren't people usually happy when they go away to college?" she asked, taking a bite of her sandwich. I picked up my soda, thinking about her question for a moment. "I think for the most part they are," I told her, taking a drink of my pop. Swallowing, I sat it back down, looking down at her. "We're happy though." She looked up at me. "I know," she said, reaching up and pressing her lips to mine softly. "I am, I really am, Troy. It's just harder than I thought it would be." I nodded, taking a deep breath. "I know," I took a deep breath. "I mean, I understand. We're on our own now. We don't have our parents around anymore. We have the distance between the two of us we didn't have before, but I promise you, Gabriella, that's not going to change the way I feel about you. I wasn't going to let one thousand fifty-three miles do anything to us. Thirty-two point seven miles isn't anything." She smiled, more brightly than before, wrapping her arms around my neck. "I love you, Troy!" She pressed her lips to mine, kissing me hard and deep. I wrapped my arm around her, holding her close to me, rubbing her back. She pulled back, still smiling brightly. "You're perfect, Troy! You're really perfect!" I shook my head, lifting my other hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. "Thank you." She laughed, shaking her head, looking back at her food. "We're going to be alright, I know it." I nodded, picking up my sandwich. I was glad she was happy now. I hadn't liked her being so down. It was making me feel upset, but now that she was feeling better, we could have a good time again and that's what I liked having with her. Though I knew once I had to leave Monday morning for class, she'd be sad once again.

Half an hour later, we were back on the freeway heading toward our destination for the night. Gabriella was already starting to get tired, but she didn't want to fall asleep, leaving me to stay a wake by myself. I told her I'd be all right, but she said she'd stay awake with me. I didn't mind. She was sitting by my side, her head on my chest and I had my arm wrapped around her. It was just as good. I also had the radio on, a tape in the cassette deck. If it wasn't for dad, we wouldn't have had anything to listen to on these long drives when the radio reception wasn't coming through. He gave me all of his old tapes. Not that I minded all of his old stuff. It was all country music from the nineties, and some from the early two thousands when cassettes were fazing out, which wasn't bad. We had listened to it while I was growing up, and most of it was really good. I didn't have it turned up too high. I didn't want to wake Gabriella up. She was sleeping soundly and I never liked to disturb her while she was sleeping and she felt so good as her breath rose and fell against my chest. I ran my fingers through her long dark locks. I loved her hair. It was one of my favorite features of hers. I loved her hair and her eyes. I loved so much about her, but those were my two favorite features of hers and I would never tire of them. I could run my fingers through her hair all day long and sit and stare into her dark, warm eyes endlessly. She was the most gorgeous woman ever. I knew I would never fall out of love with her. She was everything to me and I knew she always would be.

I still hadn't gotten over her friend asking us if we had come to Vegas to get married, but I hadn't even thought about when Gabriella and I would get married before that. I just always knew we would. But ever since her friend brought it up I couldn't stop thinking about it. It wasn't like I wanted to get married now, or any time soon. But probably in a few years from now, probably when we were ready to have a family. But I was sure both of us weren't ready for that and weren't going to be ready for that for a few years at least. We both knew we wanted to be married to each other and have a family together, we just didn't know when. We'd figure it out soon. Probably when we sat down to talk about it, but as for now, we were happy with what we had. We just graduated from high school. We didn't need to speed through things. It was just her friend planting those ideas in my head making me think about this. It was just all the time. We'd be married someday. Why I was letting it occupy my thoughts so much was beyond me. It wasn't as though we were getting married today or even tomorrow. It would solve the problem of missing each other. Or would it? She was still going to Stamford and I was at Berkeley. What was I to do spend the week up at Berkeley and the weekend with my wife? I was doing that anyway.

I pulled into the hotel, parking in the hotel registration parking space, turning off the engine. Gabriella sat up slowly, looking out through the windshield. "We're here?" I nodded, rubbing her thigh softly. "Yeah. I'm just going to go get us checked in." She yawned, laying her head back against the seat, nodding. "I'll just wait here." I smiled, kissing her forehead. "I'll be quick." I ran in, getting us checked in and quickly coming back out to her. I didn't like keeping her waiting. Hopping up into the truck, I pulled out of the space and pulled around in front of our room. I helped her out of the truck and reached into the back of the truck, grabbing both of our bags. Gabriella wrapped her arms around my arm and we walked into the building, taking the the stairs to the second level, walking down the hallway toward our room. I handed her the key and she slid it through the reader and opened the door for us, walking in and holding the door open for me. I placed the bags down and she shut the door. "In the mood for a pizza tonight?" I asked her, pulling her into my arms. "Or maybe Chinese?" She thought about it for a moment before smiling at me. "Do you think we can get a margherita pizza?" I laughed softly, nodding my head. "I hope so." It was my our favorite kind of pizza, and I'd call every pizza place in the phone book to find a place that made margherita pizzas if that's what she really wanted, even if they didn't deliver. I'd go pick it up. And if they didn't do takeout, then we'd go out to eat.

She smiled and I took her hand, walking with her to sit on the bed, leaning over and pulling the phone book out from under the bedside table, flipping it open to the restaurant guide. I found the pizza section and lo and behold they actually had a place called Margherita's Pizza. "Would you look at that," I laughed, and Gabriella shook her head. "Still can't be as good as the one we get back in Albuquerque." I shook my head, giving her a very serious look of discernment. "Definitely not." We both laughed slightly at each other and I picked up the phone, cradling it under my head on my shoulder, looking down at the phone book as I dialed the number. When they answered, I asked, "Hey, we're staying at the Hampton Inn on Lenwood. Do you deliver?" They said they did and I nodded over at Gabriella. She smiled and laid her head on my shoulder, wrapping her arms around my arm. I smiled, taking the phone back in my hand and turning my head to rest it against her head. "You have margherita style pizza's?" They said that's why they had the name Margherita's Pizza and I laughed. "Ok then. We'd like a large margherita pizza with all the trimmings and a large soda. Any cola is good." I turned my head down to look at Gabriella. "Anything else, baby?" She turned her head up and shook it slightly. "No, that's it," I told them. They told me the total and said that it would be here in about thirty minutes. I thanked them and hung up the phone, tossing the phone book down under the bedside table again.

"Dinner will be here in a half hour. Anything you want to do until then?" I asked her, rubbing her arm slightly after wrapping my arm around her. She smiled up at me, shaking her head again. "I'm sorry I fell asleep on you again in the truck. You just make me so comfortable." I smiled down at her, kissing her forehead softly. "That's fine, baby. It doesn't bother me any." She smiled, wrapping her arms around me. "Can you believe we're here? Not here in Barstow, I mean, but about ready to start college. It was just yesterday that we met up at that ski lodge in Vail, Colorado. Who would have ever thought that we would have met there of all places?" I smiled. It was true. I lived in Albuquerque and she was moving to Albuquerque, but was moving away from Vail. It was weird to say the least, but that just meant it was meant to be. There was no other explaining it. "I've never questioned it, baby," I told her, my mouth nestled in her hair. She turned her head and smiled up at me. "Me neither." Turning, she straddled my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck. "I love you, Troy." I smiled up at her, wrapping my arms around her waist. She leaned down, pressing her lips to mine, her fingers playing in the strands of hair at the back of my head. I loved when she did that. It was probably one of my favorite things that she did. Her fingers felt so good running through my hair, especially there. I could get lost in her fingers.

* * *

"Troy," I whispered against his lips. He opened his eyes, looking up at me and I whispered. "This is one of those moments I want to stop. You know, slow down." We weren't really doing anything. We were just here, alone, spending time together. I smiled down at him, it reminded me of one of my favorite songs. Before Troy, I never really liked singing much, but he brought it out in me. Ever since that first night at the lodge, he brought out something in me I couldn't deny. It was as if he awoke it in me. I'd sang in church choir when I was younger, but that was ages ago. But with Troy it was different. I pushed Troy down onto his back, laying down with him on top of his chest, my fingers running through his hair, starting to sing to him. "I could stay awake just to hear you breathing. Watch you smile while you are far away and dreaming." I pulled a hand from his hair to run my fingers over his lips. "I could spend my life in this sweet surrender. I could stay lost in this moment forever. Every moment spent with you is a moment I'll treasurrrrre. Don't wanna close my eyes. I don't wanna fall asleep, 'cause I'd miss you babe, and I don't wanna miss a thing. 'Cause even when I dream of you, the sweetest dream would never do, I'd still miss you, babe, and I don't wanna miss a thing."

Troy turned me over to lay beside me on the bed, running his fingers through my head, starting to sing the next verse with me. "Lying close to you, feeling yoooour heart beating. And I'm wondering what you're dreamin'. Wondrin' if it's me you're seein.'" And I stopped singing as he leaned forward, still singing softly, "And then I kiss your eyelids," kissing them as I closed my eyes gently, "and thank God we're together. I just wanna stay with you in this moment forever." And I started singing with him again, smiling with tears in my eyes, "Forever and ever. I don't wanna close my eyes. I don't wanna fall asleep, 'cause I'd miss you babe, and I don't wanna miss a thing. 'Cause even when I dream of you, the sweetest dream would never do. I'd still miss you, babe, and I don't wanna miss a thing." I stopped singing and Troy lifted his hand, letting his finger run across my lips. "I don't wanna miss one smile. I don't wanna miss one kiss." He leaned in forward, brushing his lips across mine. I bit my lip softly before licking my lips and barely singing, "I just wanna be with you right here with you, just like this." We both sang softly together, even though my voice was very weak, "I just wanna hold you close, I'll feel your heart so close to mine, and just stay here in this moment for all the rest of time."

I knew Troy and I would be making love sooner rather than later, I just didn't know when that would be. Every time we got close, I felt like this time could be that time, but then I felt like it wasn't the right time. But I knew when that time came I knew I would know, so I wasn't worried. And I knew Troy was patient. He wasn't upset with me or anything. He was the sweetest, most understanding and caring person I'd ever known. I was so grateful to have him and I knew it. I just knew that once Sunday came and I he had to leave to go up to Berkeley, I was going to miss him like crazy. Even though I knew it was only going to be five days until I saw him again and we'd talk on the phone every single day, it wasn't going to be the same. But we'd get through it. We always did. I had to believe in that. Troy assured me of it. I kissed him softly before sitting up. "I'm going to shower and get my pajamas on. We'll have a pajama party while we eat dinner." Troy smiled up at me, nodding. "Good idea," he said, turning on his back and watching me as I got my pajamas out of my bag and hurried into the bathroom. I had pulled away from him because I knew if I didn't I'd get him more turned on than he already was. Not that we hadn't gone farther than that before, but I didn't want him to get turned on when I wasn't ready to go farther and I didn't want to turn him down again, not verbally anyway. I felt bad, but I knew he understood. I just hoped it wouldn't be long before I could be ready to give myself to him. I wanted to. I just knew I had to be completely ready before I was able to.


	9. Our Last Night Together

We pulled into the parking lot just after before five p.m. I looked at the door of my new apartment through the windshield of Troy's in front of us and took a slow breath. "Think my new roommate is in there already?" I asked, looking over at Troy. He shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head. "Only way to find out is if we go in. Ready?" I nodded, taking his hand as he slid out of the truck, helping me slide out as well and down to my feet beside him. Shutting the door to the truck, Troy pulled me against his side, rubbing my arm. "Nervous?" I looked up at him, letting go of a slight chuckle. "It's showing?" He scrunched up his nose, shaking his head. "Not at all." I laughed more fully, wrapping my arms around him. "Liar." He kissed the top of my head as I pulled my keys out of my purse, unlocking the door. I opened the door and put the keys back in my purse, walking in with Troy at my side. Placing my purse down on the table behind the couch, I looked around. The place didn't look any different than it did the last time we were here. "Hello?" No answer came and I turned to look at Troy, shaking my head. "Maybe she's not here yet." He shook his head as well, walking more into the apartment. "Oh, I thought that was you," I heard a voice behind me, turning to see the apartment manager walking in through the door, shutting it behind her.

"I saw your white truck pull in and I was sure you were here. I wanted to come over and welcome you home." She said, handing me a gift basket wrapped in cellophane. I looked over the basket and back up at her as Troy came back up to my side. "What's this?" I asked her, smiling softly at her. "Home-warming gift. I just wanted to bring it to you and make sure you got settled in alright." I set it down on the table, turning back to her, taking Troy's hand. "Thank you, Diane. I appreciate it." She smiled at me, clasping her hands in front of her. "It's nothing. How was your trip?" I looked up at Tory, smiling and nodding back at her. "It was good." She smiled, nodding as well. "Good. I'm glad." I knew she was just here out of formalities, so I decided to ask her so she could get on her way. She probably wanted to get home and I didn't blame her. "When is my roommate going to moving in?" She unclasped her hands, straightening them in front of her. "You don't have one yet. Don't worry. Your rent is still half of the whole. You won't have to cover the extra." I shook my head my eyes widening a bit. "Oh, no, that's not what I was thinking." She smiled, nodding her head.

"Oh, I know, I was just letting you know. You won't have to worry about it. Just get yourself settled in. Have fun this weekend before classes start. There's a dance tomorrow night at the school." She smiled brightly between the two of us. "You two should go. You will still be here, right?" She asked, looking over at Troy. "Oh yes," he said, nodding his head, looking down at me, wrapping his arm around me. She nodded, stepping over to the door, opening it. "Good. Have fun. I'll see you around. Have a nice weekend." She stepped outside and I stepped over to the door, taking it from her. "Thank you, Diane." She waved and I shut the door, turning to Troy. "Dance?" He smiled, coming up to me, wrapping his arms around me. "Sounds like fun. Wanna go down to the school and find out more about it?" I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head. "Maybe tomorrow. I just want to have dinner and spend the evening alone with you." He smiled, kissing me softly. "Sounds good. Would you like to go out or stay in? We could go shopping? Get groceries for your new place." I nodded, hugging him tightly to me. "That sounds good. We could cook dinner together. Anything you'd like?" He thought about it for a moment and said, "Why don't we figure it out while we're at the store?" I smiled, kissing his chin. "Good idea, Wildcat. Ready to go?" He nodded, taking my hand, leading me out the door.

Troy and I got back to the apartment about two hours later with several bags of groceries. I'd never shopped so much for groceries for myself in my entire life. I'd have to get used to it though. I'd be eating by myself a lot in the future. Thinking about that made me sad, but I didn't want to worry Troy, so I tried to stay as positive as possible. He was trying to make things as smooth as he possibly could, and I loved him so much for it. He was so sweet to me, and I didn't want to make him feel like he wasn't doing a good job and succeeding by letting him know that I wasn't looking forward to being alone. And it wasn't that I didn't have a roommate. I didn't mind not having a roommate. It was about not having Troy. It was about not having my mother. It was about not having Taylor. Everyone that meant anything to me wasn't going to be around and I didn't know how I was going to cope with that. And here I thought I could cut everyone out of my life a few months ago. Troy snapped me out of that quickly enough back then. But now that I'm actually on my own, what was I going to do? I only had a few days left with Troy, I wasn't going to spoil them by acting moody, that was the first thing I was going to do. The second thing I was going to do was make enchiladas with him for dinner.

Troy and I each loved cooking and even though Troy hadn't done much cooking in his life, he still wanted to help with dinner. My mother had taught me from a very young age how to cook, both my sister and me, mostly Spanish dishes, and I loved cooking them. Troy didn't really know how to cook that much, but he knew how to cook a little. "I'll teach you," I told him, as we started to prepare dinner. "Mom taught me how to prepare a few meals," Troy told me. "French toast and chicken casserole." I smiled, looking up at him as we rolled the enchiladas into the dish. "Good, then you're cooking breakfast," I winked at him, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. "Deal," he said, kissing me on my forehead. Once we were done rolling the enchiladas, I placed them in the oven and turned to him. He smiled down at me, placing his hands on mine where I had them propped on the counter. "This is fun," he said, rubbing the tops of each of my hands. I smiled, looking around the kitchen. "What? Cooking dinner?" I giggled slightly and he nodded. "Yeah. Pretty much. You and me, here in the kitchen. Doing what couples do." I blushed, letting my teeth rake over my bottom lip. "Oh, is this what couples do?"

Troy closed the distance between us, trapping me between him and the counter. "One of the things." I swallowed, my mouth feeling extremely dry. "What else do couples do?" Troy slid his hands up my arms, turning his head slightly, pretending to think for a moment. "They... watch movies together, snuggled under a blanket on the couch." I giggled, leaning my head forward some before shaking my head up at him. "I love you, Wildcat." He smiled down at me softly, leaning down to press his lips against mine. "I love you, Gabriella." I smiled up at him, reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck, hugging him down to me. "Should we check out what's on the satellite?" Troy nodded only slightly, but he didn't move, pressing his lips back to mine. He slid his hands down my sides and picked me up by my hips, helping me up onto the counter, stepping up in between my legs, sliding his hands along my bare thighs. I bit my lip, looking down at him. "What are you doing, Troy? I thought you wanted to watch a movie..." He nodded, his hands sliding down over my thighs some more. "We can while we eat..." he said, looking up into my eyes.

I could see that look in his eyes, that look that made me melt every time I saw it. He had that tone in his voice, that tone that made me weak in the knees. It was a good thing I wasn't standing, otherwise he might have had to pick me up off the floor. "Troy..." He shook his head. "Shhh... I just want to..." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know what I want. I really just want to look at you. Touch you." I smiled down at him, lifting my arms and wrapping them around his neck, letting my hands slide into his hair. "Ok," I whispered, wrapping my legs around his. I leaned down, pressing my lips to his, kissing him softly. "I love you, Troy," I whispered against his lips, inhaling sharply, feeling him pull me by my rear closer to him. I smiled down at him, wrapping my legs more around him. "I love you, Gabriella." Troy slid his hands up underneath my tank top in the back, his hands rubbing my back, pulling me more and more against him. The more he pulled me, the more I wanted to feel him pressed against me. I was getting turned on more and more by the second.

I let my hands slide down his back, gripping at his shirt, pulling it up and over his head. He looked up at me almost breathless. Smiling down at him, I lifted my arms above my head and he grabbed the bottom of my tank top, lifting it off and over my head. He dropped it where I had dropped his shirt, wrapping his arms around me, pulling my half naked body against his, kissing me deeply. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling me closer to him. Moaning into his mouth, I pulled him tighter against me with my legs. "Mmm, Troy," I moaned, rubbing my face along the side of his, letting my foot run over the side of his leg. "Gabriella..." Troy groaned, his hands sliding over my rear, his lips hovering just over mine. I smiled, pulling his head closer to mine, pressing my lips against his again, kissing him deeply. This felt so good, I didn't want it to end. I just wanted to sit here like this forever and makeout with my boyfriend. I knew he couldn't do that forever. He'd need more or we'd have to stop. Honestly, if I was honest with myself, I'd need the same thing. But it felt good like this. If we could just do this, like this, forever until I was ready, I'd be happy.

We heard a noise pulling us from our fervor and I rested my forehead down against his head. "What was that?" Troy asked, his voice low and guttural. I swallowed, trying to breathe myself. "I don't know," I told him, licking my lips, my eyes closed as I kept my arms wrapped around his shoulders. The noise came again and we realized it was a knock at the door. I lifted my head, looking down at him. "Who in the world–?" Troy asked, shaking his head. He reached for our shirts, handing me my tank top. We didn't have to answer it, but it was a good distraction to keep us from going farther. We both knew I wasn't ready, so the knocking at the door was good to stop us. I pulled my tank top on and Troy took my hand, helping me off the counter after pulling his shirt over his head as well. We walked out of the kitchen and through the living area to the door. Opening it, we saw a girl standing on the stoop and some other students walking down the sidewalk behind her. She was talking to them until she heard the door open. "Oh! There you are!" She said, offering her hand up to me to shake.

"My name is Lyndi. I live just around the corner in 5C." I shook her hand, smiling down at her. "Nice to meet you, Lyndi. My name is Gabriella and this is my boyfriend Troy." Troy offered his hand to her and she shook it, before inviting us, "Some of us are going over to the Student Center for Game Night. It's every Saturday night from 7-10. You're welcome to come with us." I looked up to Troy, not really wanting to tell her no, but not wanting to interrupt our evening alone either. "We'd love to," Troy said and I smiled back at Lyndi realizing that it would be rude to say no, "but we've got dinner in the oven." I looked back at Troy, biting my lip. He smiled down at me and I looked back out at Lyndi. "Maybe next weekend." Lyndi nodded, stepping down off the stoop. "Definitely. Oh, you two are going to the dance tomorrow night right? It's formal." I raised my eyebrow, laughing slightly. "Formal?" Lyndi smiled. "Yeah. Most dances here are formal, unless otherwise indicated. Can't wait to see you two there. Have a nice night you two." She ran off to catch up with the rest of the group and I turned back to Troy, shutting the door.

"Most dances are formal around here," I repeated Lyndi. Troy laughed, wrapping his arm around my waist as we walked over to the couch, sitting down. "Something wrong with that?" I shook my head, laughing a little. "No, not really. I just didn't expect everything to be so tight around here." Troy wrapped his arms tightly around me, kissing the side of my head. "Don't worry, baby. Everything's going to be just fine. Trust me?" I looked up at him, smiling softly. "Always." He pressed his lips softly to mine as the buzzer on the oven started to go off. I pulled back slowly. "Why don't you find something to watch and I'll go get prepare dinner." He nodded, pressing his lips to my forehead. I stood up, walking into the kitchen as he turned on the TV. This was how it was supposed to be, I thought to myself. Troy and me living together all the time. We didn't need 32.7 miles between us. But we had to wait for that. We were just starting college. We couldn't live together yet. It was impossible. I fixed our plates and came back into the living area to find Troy waiting on the couch for me with a movie paused and ready on Pay-Per-View for us. "What are we watching?" Troy shrugged his shoulders. "Iron Man sound ok?" I laughed, sitting down beside him. "Sounds great!"

* * *

Gabriella and I spent the night watching Iron Man, switching over to FX! Network and then going to bed around 1 in the morning. We had done the dishes together and just spending time together. We didn't really have anything we wanted to do but be with each other, so it was the perfect night. I held her in my arms all night long. We were so exhausted by the time we went to bed, we didn't even bother changing into our pajamas. Our clothes were still outside in our suitcases and neither one of us felt like bringing them in. So Gabriella slept in her tank top and panties and I slept in my boxers. If we hadn't been so exhausted by the time we went to bed, I know we would have made out some more, but we had pretty much fallen asleep on the couch, so by the time we got back to her bedroom, both of us were just ready to sleep. But that didn't stop me from dreaming about her, dreaming about what we had done in the kitchen, but it didn't stop when we heard the knock at the door. I dreamed of everything. I made love to Gabriella in my dreams and it was amazing. It woke me up wanting her, but I wasn't going to do anything about it. She was laying peacefully in my arms and I wasn't going to disturb her. I simply kissed her forehead and went back to sleep.

The next day we decided to go shopping for the dance. We went to the mall, Gabriella wanted to help me pick out my suit first. We looked through a few different ones before I tried on a few as well. We found one she loved and I thought it fit alright, so I got it as well as a tie that Gabriella picked out. We then went over to look for a dress for Gabriella. She looked through her usual short dresses before shaking her head and walking over to the area with the long gowns. "Something wrong with those other ones?" She shook her head, looking through the longer dresses. "No. I liked them, I just... I want something that makes me look... a little more grown up." I chuckled, wrapping my arms around her from behind, kissing her shoulder. "You're going to look beautiful in anything you choose. You don't have to worry about looking grown up. We're all college students here, baby." She smiled back at me, nodding her head. "I know, but I just want to, Troy." I nodded my head, rubbing her arms softly. "Then do it. I want you to be happy." She smiled back at me, pulling out a long purple gown, one that would match the purple tie she bought me. "I'm going to go try this one on." She looked around the store a little cautiously before looking back at me, taking my hand. "Come help me."

She pulled me into the dressing room, shutting the door behind us and locking it. "Prom dresses are particularly hard to get off and on," she said, hanging up the dress on the hook and her purse on the door knob to the door. I sat down on the chair as she kicked off her shoes and started to get undressed in front of me. "Well, I didn't expect a strip show," I chuckled, leaning back, watching her slide down her shorts. She tossed them at me, shaking her head. "Not that type of show, Wildcat!" She giggled and pulled her shirt off of her head, tossing it at me as well. "Really? Could have fooled me!" She shook her head, turning to unzip the dress on the hanger. "And how would you know? You been to a strip joint?" I shook my head, still laughing, placing the clothes on the seat as I stood up when she turned to me after stepping into the dress and pulling it up over her body. "No," I said, stepping up behind her, taking the zipper and pulling it up. She smoothed her hands down over her flat stomach looking at herself in the mirror as I stood behind her looking at her in the mirror as well. "Stunning, Gabriella!" She turned around, looking up at me. "All grown up?" I pushed her hair back over her shoulder, shaking my head. She didn't need to look all grown up, but if that's what she needed to hear from me, I'd tell her. "All grown up, baby."

She smiled up at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling my head down to her. She kissed me softly, holding me against her. "I'm excited for this dance, Troy," she spoke, but I didn't hear any excitement in her voice as she held me wrapped in her arms. She knew I'd have to leave soon, and knowing that hurt me too. I lowered my head, kissing her bare shoulder. "Shhh, it's ok, baby. Everything's going to be ok." She laid her head against my shoulder, and I felt her shake softly and I knew she was crying. "Please don't cry, baby. Listen," I pulled her back, looking into her eyes, wiping at her face. "Hey, listen. I'm not going to leave until the morning, ok? I've figured out how long it will take me to get to Berkeley. I'll leave when you wake up to get ready for your first class and I'll get up in plenty of time to get ready for mine. It's not a problem." She tried to stop crying, but the tears still softly flowed. "But it still is a problem. You're still gone..." I pressed my lips to hers, holding her tightly against me. "I know, baby. But it won't be long. You'll see me before you know it." I didn't want to let her go, but I knew we were talking too much for a guy being in the ladies' dressing room.

"Come on, baby. Lets get this dress off you and buy it so we can get going. We'll go out for dinner and then we'll go home and get ready for the dance." I hadn't meant to say home, but it had come out naturally. Wherever she was was my home. She nodded her head and stepped back, wiping at her tears, smiling up at me. "Lets just have fun tonight, right? You'll help me forget about tomorrow?" I nodded, running my fingers through her hair. "We'll both forget." She smiled a little more, nodding again before turning her back to me. "Ok, lets get me out of this dress so we can go." I leaned over her shoulder, whispering against her ear, "I like the idea of getting you out of the dress." I heard her breath catch in her throat and I smiled, pulling down at the zipper, helping her step down and out of it. I kept the dress and leaned over, handing her her clothes. "I'll take care of the dress. You just get dressed." She smiled at me, taking her clothes and leaning over to pull on her shorts. "Thank you, Troy." I smiled, reaching up to grab the hanger off the hook. "You're welcome, baby."

We bought the dress and left the mall, heading toward home. Gabriella looked up at me as we walked in the door. "Why don't we get ready before we go out to dinner? Go out dressed up." I smiled down at her, nodding and kissing the side of her head. "Sounds like fun! I'll get ready in the other room if you'd like your privacy." She smiled up at me, shaking her head. "Not about privacy, but that would be good." She leaned up, pressing her lips to mine before walking down the hall into her bedroom. I walked into the other bedroom to get ready myself. I was ready long before Gabriella, so I sat out in the living area watching TV, probably the only time her TV would ever be on ESPN. I sat back and relaxed against the couch waiting for her. I knew she'd take a while. That's what girls did, right? And I knew she was worried about looking grown up, so she'd probably take a little longer. I didn't mind. If she wanted to look grown up, I didn't want to take that from her. I was sure it was because of where she was. Being here at Stanford was a big deal. It was an Ivy League school. She was smart, I knew that, but she didn't have as much faith in herself as I did, as most anyone else around her did. I was probably more proud of her than almost anyone, but she was so humble, she couldn't see just how incredible she was.

I looked up to see her standing in front of me, looking... breathtakingly beautiful. If I thought she was stunning in the dressing room, she was completely blowing me away here. I turned off the television and slowly stood up. "Wow. You're... beautiful, Gabriella." She had her hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail behind her head, draping down her back, her eyes were highlighted with a smokey makeup that accentuated her eyes perfectly. She blushed, holding her purse behind herself. "Thank you, Troy. You look handsome." I stepped forward, straightening my jacket, brushing off my sleeves. "Thank you, baby." I held my hand out to her and she slowly slipped her hand into it, smiling up at me. "Ready to go?" I asked her and she nodded. I lead her out to my truck and we left for the restaurant. We ate at a place called Evvia Estiatorio, a fancy Greek restaurant. Gabriella had something called a kotopoulo, a lemon-oregano rotisserie chicken with onions and potatoes and I had the souvlaki. That was something I was used to. It was just a simple beef filet, served with sweet peppers and mushrooms. But it also came with somethings I wasn't familiar with, dakosalata and fried haloumi. I ate them anyway and they were really good. I wasn't a picky person. I'd eat almost anything. That's how I was raised. For dessert, Gabriella didn't surprise me with what she wanted. She got something called fraoulotourta, a strawberry and rhubarb tart with crème fraiche ice cream. I had something else I was familiar with, staying dull. Baklava. I was a boring person when it came to eating, sure, but baklava was good, and I wouldn't give it up when offered.

We showed up at the dance about a half hour later, meeting and chatting with quite a few people. Gabriella met a few of the professors she'd be taking classes from this semester and some of the people she'd be taking classes with as well. We spent most of our time out on the dance floor dancing. They had food there, but we had already eaten at the restaurant, so we we didn't have anything to eat while we were there. We did sit down and talk to a few people and sip a couple cups of punch though. I just wanted to hold her in my arms. The music was good for that too. They didn't play too many fast songs, so I was able to just dance with her the way I wanted. A few guys came over to ask if she'd like to dance and I didn't want to be rude, but I asked Gabriella if she was alright with it the first time. She shook her head at the guy, telling him no thank you. After he walked away, she told me she just wanted to be in my arms all night. So every time someone came up to ask if they could dance, I told them not tonight. I didn't mind. If it wasn't for the dance, I'd just take her home and hold her all night there, but we were having fun. Although around eleven she looked up at me, yawning softly.

"I'm ready to go, Troy." I nodded my head and took her hand, leading her out. Ten minutes later we were home and locking the door behind us. I reached to turn on the light and Gabriella grabbed my hand, shaking her head. "Leave it off," she said, walking with me through the darkness toward the hallway. We walked down the hall and into her bedroom. She shut the door behind us, tossing her purse on the chair at her desk and lead me over to her bed, still in the dark. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she pulled me down to her, pressing her lips against mine. "Help me, Troy," she whispered against my lips, pulling herself against me. I nodded, zipping her zipper down on her dress and she just let it fall into a pile at her feet, pushing me backward slightly, stepping out of the dress, leaving her in only her panties and nylons as he pushed my jacket off of my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor as well. "Gabriella?" She smiled softly up at me, pulling at my tie. "Troy?" I swallowed, looking down at her perfect body, slowly letting my hands run up her sides. "What are you doing?" She started undoing the buttons at my shirt, her eyes focused on my eyes, not even blinking.

"I'm ready, Troy. I want to make love to you," she whispered, pushing my shirt off my shoulders. It fell to the floor and I nodded slowly. I didn't have to ask if she was sure. I knew that once she told me she was ready, she'd be ready. Her hands moved around, undoing the clasp at the front of my pants, followed by the zipper, sliding her hands down the front of them. That was another way I knew I didn't have to ask. She was taking the initiative. She was leading this and usually she didn't. I kicked off my shoes and stepped out of my pants as she pushed me down to sit on the bed. She crawled onto my lap, straddling me with her knees on either side of me. I took a deep breath, feeling how wet she was through both her panties and my boxers. She was ready for this, more so than she had ever been before. She wrapped her arms around me, pulling herself against me. Her bare breasts rubbed up against my chest and I groaned as she pressed her lips against mine. "Make love to me, Troy," she murmured against my lips. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her more against me, laying down with her on the bed.

I turned her to where I was laying on top of her. I slid my hands down her sides, pulling at the band of her nylons, pulling them and her panties down and off of her, dropping them aside. I felt her breathing pick up and I looked up into her eyes. She was now naked on the bed with me. She now lifted her hands more slowly, and I could tell it was getting to be harder on her, more difficult, now that she knew we were getting closer and closer to making love. I didn't want to force her into this. We were only going to do this if she was completely sure. She slid her fingers underneath the band, sliding them down. I helped her get them off of me, kicking them aside. "Oh," she gasped, feeling my hard cock against her thigh. "Troy..." I took her hand in mine, kissing it softly. "Gabriella, we don't have to do this if you're not ready." She looked up at me in the darkness. "I am ready, Troy. No matter how nervous I am, I want to make love to you. Don't stop. Don't let me stop." I nodded, leaning forward, pressing my lips to mine, letting our naked bodies press together for the first time. Her moan escaped into my mouth as she wrapped her arms around me, pulling one leg up to wrap it around my leg, pulling me closer to her. My cock moved directly for her pussy, but I didn't let it slide inside yet. I could feel her juices as it rubbed underneath, thrusting between her thighs. "Troy," she gasped, lifting her hips to me. "Oh my!"

I couldn't believe we were actually here, in this moment. I'd – we'd waited so long, and I'd had no idea it would happen tonight. I pulled back to look at her, running my fingers through her hair. "I love you, Gabriella." She smiled up at me, wrapping her other leg around me. "I love you, Troy." She was beckoning me to enter, pleading with me without actually saying the words. I pulled myself back slightly, about to slide in, but then I remembered I didn't have a condom and I knew I couldn't do it. I sighed heavily, closing my eyes. "What is it?" Gabriella said, her voice full of concern for me, maybe possibly wondering if she'd done something wrong. I opened my eyes quickly, looking down at her. "It's nothing. Or actually, it is. I... I don't have a condom, baby." I took a deep breath. "I always thought that when we made love for the first time, we'd talk about it before hand and we'd prepare for it and I'd have time to go get some. I haven't..." She was shaking her head and now I was the confused one. "Don't worry about it, Troy." I shook my head, narrowing my eyes in on her. "Don't worry about it? Baby, I don't want to get you pregnant. I know neither of us are ready for that right now." She laughed slightly and I still didn't know what to make of this. "You don't have to worry, Troy. I've got it taken care of. I've been on birth control for years. To regulate my cycle. It's ok." I lifted my eyes slightly, a weight lifted from my shoulders. I never knew you could do that, but if she was on birth control, I was glad we didn't have to use condoms.

"Can we make love now, Troy?" she asked when I didn't say anything, and I nodded, leaning forward, pressing my lips back to hers, reaching between us, grabbing my cock and letting it rub against her pussy, sliding it between her lips. I let the tip move over her clit and I felt her jump slightly. "Oh! Troy!" Her hands moved up my back, gripping at the hair on the back of my head. I moved my cock downward, dipping into her pussy slowly. I could already feel her tightness from the first little bit. I knew I needed to be careful with her. I didn't want to hurt her. I knew it was going to hurt, but I was going to do my best to let it hurt as little as possible. She moved her hands down to grip my shoulders as I felt her walls begin to give way to me. "Troooy," her moan came out in a mix of pleasure and pain and I pressed my lips to hers. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry." She shook her head, looking up at me. "Don't say sorry. I know. It's ok. It's ok." She pulled me tighter to her, lifting her hips more to me, sending me more inside of her. "Oh..!" I pushed in all the way and I could tell she was crying softly. I felt horrible. I didn't know if the tears were from pain or from what. "Baby?" I asked, wiping at her tears, pulling out slowly. She pulled me back to her. "Don't... Please don't." I needed to know that she was alright. I didn't want to hurt her anymore. "Are you alright?"

* * *

I knew it was supposed to hurt. I knew about sex. Just because I had been afraid of it for years didn't mean I didn't know about it. I knew that when I made love to Troy for the first time my hymen was going to rip and it was going to hurt like nothing I'd ever felt before in my life, but it wasn't that bad. It was bad, it just wasn't the worst pain in the world. I held onto Troy tightly, hoping the pain would go away. He started to pull out of me and I tried to hold him inside of me, hoping that if he stayed it would stop hurting. "Baby?" his voice was tender as he wiped at my face. I was crying and I didn't even realize it. I pulled him back to me, not wanting him to leave me. "Don't... Please don't." I started to cry even more. I didn't want him to leave me, not for anything. This was the most amazing feeling in the entire world. I had waited so long to make love to him and I didn't want to stop now, even if I was in pain. "Are you alright?" I moved my fingers up into his hair, pulling his head down to mine, kissing his lips. "Yes," I whispered. "It just hurts, but I don't want you to stop. Please don't stop. It's supposed to hurt. It will stop though. I know it will." Troy nodded, pulling me back to him as he slowly pushed back inside of me and I lifted my hips back to him, gasping as that pain came again. It wasn't as bad as when he first pushed inside of me, so I knew that meant it wasn't going to be that much longer til the pain was gone.

He started to push in and out of me slowly and I met his rhythm with my hips and the pain did slowly start to subside. "Troy! Oh!" He felt so good. I never knew that making love would feel this amazing. Troy felt so good inside of me and his naked body against mine, moving against mine felt so good, especially where his pelvis rubbed up against my clit with each of his thrusts. "Ohhh!" He pulled back, looking down at me. "Gabriella!" He grunted, pushing deeper into me. "I felt my walls start to tighten up and I knew that meant I was going to orgasm." Troy, please don't stop." He shook his head, pushing deeper inside of me. "Never," he whispered against my ear, moving his lips down to my neck. He pushed faster and faster into me. My walls tightened over his cock and I gripped tightly at his arms. "TROYYY!" I felt his release within me as well as he groaned out loud, pulling me tightly against him, "Gaaaaabs!" I smiled at his nickname for me, pulling him down against me, wrapping my legs more around him, even though they felt like they were going to fall right off. I kept him tight against me even though I felt tired. "I love you, Troy," I whispered against his ear. He pulled his head back, looking down at me as he ran his fingers through my hair. "I love you, Gabriella." Pulling out of me slowly, He laid beside me, pulling me into his arms.

He ran his fingers through my hair as I yawned against his chest, and I heard him hum softly. I could hear him singing softly, or maybe I was dreaming as I drifted off to sleep, but either way, it was relaxing me as I laid in his arms. "Tomorrow I must leave, the dawn holds no reprieve. God give me strength when I am leaving. So raise your hands to Heaven and pray that we'll be back together someday. Tonight I need your sweet caress, hold me in the darkness." I smiled, singing softly myself. "Tonight you calm my restlessness. You relieve my sadness." Troy continued to sing, and I closed my eyes, trying not to cry. "As we move to embrace, tears move down your face, I whisper words so softly." I swallowed, hugging him to me. "I can't believe this pain," I sang, kissing his bare chest, "it's driving me insane." Both of us sang softly together. "Without your touch life will be lonely." Troy kissed the top of my head, singing to me, "So raise your hands to Heaven and pray that we'll be back together some day. Tonight I need your sweet caress, hold me in the darkness." I swallowed, my fingers running softly over his bare chest. "Tonight you calm my restlessness. You relieve my sadness."

And we both started singing together, holding on to each other tightly. "Tonight I need your sweet caress, hold me in the darkness. Tonight you calm my restlessness. You relieve my sadness." Troy ran his fingers through my hair, rubbing my back softly, singing ever so gently, "Tonight I need your sweet caress." And I sang back to him, "Hold me in the darkness." He sang again, "Tonight you calm my restlessness." With me singing in return, "You relieve my sadness." Troy's singing began to get as soft as a whisper, "Tonight I need your sweet caress." And I sang with him, "Hold me in the darkness," barely able to stay awake. "Tonight you calm my restlessness." And I yawned slightly, my eyes too heavy to keep open, but I still tried to sing with him, "You calm my restlessness." And he finished singing the song, "You relieve my sadness."


	10. Off to Classes

I woke up the next morning, sure that last night was a dream. Gabriella was … better than a dream. I knew she would be. But when I woke up and found her head fast asleep on my chest, her naked body resting softly against mine, I knew I hadn't dreamed anything. Gabriella and I had made love last night and it was perfect. She had fallen asleep right here in my arms and everything was just as it should have been. The alarm clock hadn't even gone off yet, but I knew it was coming. I'd have to get up and leave soon and I knew I didn't want to. I knew I'd have to get ready and leave her for the week and I didn't know how I was going to be able to do that. Thinking about it right now was already too painful enough for me. I knew as soon as Gabriella woke up, she'd be feeling the same. But then I felt her move, wiping a way a tear as it fell onto my chest. Closing my eyes, I wrapped my arms more around her, pulling the blankets up more around us. "It's ok, baby. If you need to cry, cry." She jumped slightly as she felt my arms wrap around her, her breath speeding up. "Oh, my gosh, Troy!" She turned her head up to look at me. "Did I wake you?" I shook my head, wiping her tears softly from her face. "No. No, you didn't. Why are you crying?" She sucked them in as much as she could, wiping at them herself. "It's morning." I looked over at the alarm clock and back at her, shaking my head. "No it's not." She closed her eyes tightly. "Yes, it is, Troy." I kissed the top of her head, hugging her more against me. "Until that clock goes off, it's not morning."

She looked up at me, tears brimming in her eyes. "I don't want you to go." I nodded slowly, lifting my head off the pillow to stretch down so I could kiss her lips softly. "I know, baby," I whispered against her lips, letting my head rest back against the pillow. "We both know I have to." She nodded sadly, laying her head back on my chest. "I know." I closed my eyes, holding her close to me. We both knew when Monday morning came along this was going to be hard, but now that it was here, we didn't know how to get through it. I wished that I was coming home to her after classes were over. And then my eyes shot open widely. That was it. That's how I could fix this. I'd commute, back and forth, every day. I'd move in here with her. She needed a roommate anyway to pick up the rest of the rent, and a half hour to forty-five minute drive every day each way wasn't the worst thing in the world, as long as I had Gabriella in my arms every night. Sure, it would put a lot of miles on my truck, but it would be worth it. And I knew as soon as I said something, Gabriella's tears would dry up and we wouldn't have to worry about this anymore. Everything would be solved. I'd just have to talk to her landlady and then get out of my lease and everything would be great. But first thing's first, telling Gabriella, making her day before it even began.

"You can stop crying now, baby," I whispered against the top of her head, kissing it softly. She shook her head softly, not picking her head up off my chest. "No. I reserve the right to cry." I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, ok," I rubbed her back softly, "as long as they're happy tears, because I wouldn't want you crying if I am coming home tonight." She lifted her head up off of my chest, turning to look at me. "What?" I smiled at her, wiping at her tears again. "That is if you'd like a roommate?" She blinked at me, her tears stopping. "What?" she repeated herself, not quite sure of what I was saying. "I'll commute every day. I know it's quite a bit of driving, but I don't care. As long as you're in my arms every night, that's all that matters to me." She blinked, wiping at her face again. "Are you serious, Troy? Really serious?" I smiled, nodding my head. "I couldn't be more serious. I can't live without you, Gabriella." She smiled, breathing in deeply. "I can't live without you, Troy!" I smiled brightly, lifting my head up off the pillow again and pressing my lips to hers passionately, wrapping my hand around the back of her head. Pulling back, I asked her, "So, is that a yes?" She giggled, nodding her head. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh, yes!" I laughed, pulling her head back to mine, kissing her deeply.

Gabriella pulled back, frowning at me again. "But you still have to go." I ran my fingers through her hair. "I do have to go, baby, but I'll be back after my classes and after I talk to my landlord." She nodded, smiling brightly. "And I'll talk to mine," she said, wrapping her arms around my neck, pulling me against her, holding me against her naked body. She bit her lip, looking down between us. "Troy..." I looked down for a second before looking back up at her, clearing my throat, "Yes, baby?" She blushed bright red as she timidly asked, "Take a shower with me before you go?" I nodded my head, running my fingers through her hair. "I'd love to." She smiled, kissing my lips softly before rolling off of me and taking my hand as she stood, walking toward the bathroom with me following her. She seemed to not even mind that she was naked, even though I knew just a minute ago she was just blushing about realizing she was naked in bed with me. She opened the shower door and reached in to turn on the water. Feeling the temperature, she turned back out to me. "All ready." She turned back to look at me and I stepped up against her, wrapping my arm around her as I pushed her backwards into the shower, pulling the door shut behind us.

She turned her head down, and I gleaned a hint of blush on her cheeks. I lifted her face up to look at me and I could see she was biting her lip. "What is it, baby?" I asked her softly. The red in her face intensified and slowly answered, "I just... can't believe what we did last night... where we are right now." I slowly let my hand rub the small area just above her ass. "Where? In the shower?" She nodded shyly. "Yes. I feel so... different, but at the same time I everything is just the same." I smiled down at her, kissing her forehead. "So, you're alright with what we did last night?" I asked, running my fingers through her wet hair. She smiled, nodding slowly. "I am. Do you think we can do it again... right now?" I lifted my eyes at her, looking around the shower for a second. "Here in the shower?" She blushed again, biting her lip. "Yes." I smirked at her, leaning down to press my lips to hers. "Are you shy?" She looked up into my eyes, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Yes..." I let my lips brush across hers softly, murmuring against them, "There's no need, baby." She moaned softly, holding her breath coming out labored. "I can't help it, Wildcat. This is all so new for me." I smiled, letting my hand move lower down to her ass, lifting her up against me, my cock sliding between her legs, causing her to gasp. "It's new for me too, Gabs, but we'll get used to it."

She nodded softly, wrapping her arms tighter around my shoulders, lifting herself up more. "Wrap your legs around me, baby," I whispered against her ear, helping her as she wrapped her legs around me. I pushed her gently up against the wall, pressing my body against hers. She felt so good. Last night had been so amazing, but I had been so sure the entire time I had been dreaming. This morning, I was sue I wasn't. Here she was, my girlfriend, here in my arms, about to make love to me for the second time.I pressed my lips against hers before letting them trail down over her chin and neck. I nestled my face there for a moment, breathing her into me. I sucked slightly at her collarbone, rubbing her thighs as I held her legs wrapped around my waist. She ran her fingers through my hair, moving her hips against me, begging me silently to make love to her. I looked into her eyes as I moved to let my cock slide slowly up inside her. She was tight, just as she had been last night, and I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to last. "Uh... Troy!" She breathed in and out quickly against my ear, grabbing on tightly to my shoulders. I pulled back slightly to look up into her eyes. "You ok?" I asked, my voice only coming out in a heavy whisper. She nodded her head quickly. "Yes, Troy. Oh, you feel so good inside me!" I groaned, pushing into her a little deeper. "You feel so incredible, Gabriella!" She slid her hands up through my hair and I pressed my lips against hers, moaning into her mouth.

I pulled out of her slightly, pushing back into her gently. I didn't want to hurt her or frighten her any, even though it would be so easy to take this quickly and a little more roughly, but I was sure she wasn't ready for that. I knew it would take a while before she was completely comfortable with things, not that she wasn't relaxed with what we were doing. I knew she was enjoying this just as much as I was. This was incredible and I didn't want it to stop. But even I knew that was impossible. Her pussy started to clamp down around me and I knew that was it. I released deep inside of her, groaning against her ear, holding her tightly against me. She gasped out, grasping onto my shoulders even tighter, "Troooooooyyyy!" Her breath was warm against my neck, the water running right over the top of it, sent shivers down my spine. I pulled back to look at her, still breathing heavily. God, she was beautiful. I knew she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. I knew there was no one who would ever take her place. Running my fingers through her hair, I cupped her face in my hand, pulling her head toward mine to kiss her softly, letting my lips linger there in a passionate kiss. "I love you, Gabriella," I whispered against her lips, holding her gently in my embrace. She leaned her forehead against mine, breathing softly. "I love you, Troy. Forever."

* * *

Troy held me with my legs still wrapped around his waist. I could feel him throbbing inside of me and it felt so amazing. I never knew making love would be this amazing. It wasn't as though I would have done it any sooner. I knew last night was the right time and that's why Troy and I made love. I hadn't been ready until then, but now that we've made love I knew I made the right choice. He whispered against my lips softly, "I love you, Gabriella," and I smiled, resting my forehead against his, still trying to catch my breath. "I love you, Troy. Forever." Pulling my head back, I looked into his stunning blue eyes. They were so warm right now and I knew why. It was because of what we'd just done. He was feeling all the love and passion I was. I ran my fingers through his hair, smiling into those perfect blue eyes. "I love this, Troy. There's nothing like this in the world." He ran his fingers through my hair, nodding. "I feel the same way, baby." I smiled, inhaling him deep into me, not wanting to leave this place. I knew we both had to get ready and he had to leave for Berkeley, but I just wanted a little more time just to be here like this with him. "I still can't believe you're going to be back here tonight." He smiled, kissing my bare shoulder. "And every night after that, Gabriella. I'm not going to live without you."

I felt the tears stinging at my eyes, but it wasn't because I was sad. I was happier than I could ever possibly be. "We need to get ready to go though," I whispered, not really wanting to let go of him. But I could already feel that he was going soft inside of me. He knew we had to get ready to go as well. "I know, baby," he whispered, kissing the side of my neck. I slowly unwrapped my legs from his waist and he lowered me to my feet. Letting my hands slide down his arms, I took a breath, turning to grab the shampoo off the shelf. "Would you like to help me?" I asked, squirting the shampoo into my hand and placing the bottle back on the shelf. "How would you like me to help?" he asked and I turned my back to him as I started to lather the shampoo into my hair. "Help me wash my hair." I felt him step closer to me, running his fingers through my hair with me. "I don't know if this is a good idea, baby," he said, leaning down closer to my ear. His voice was low and it made my clit jump again. I didn't have to ask why, not with a response like that. "We may never get out of here." I blushed, trying not to moan. "We will," I assured him, but stepped back against him, my back pressing up against his chest. "Yeah, we're not getting out of here anytime soon," Troy growled against my ear, wrapping his arms around me. I couldn't keep the moan suppressed this time, letting it go softly as his soapy hands moved over my wet, naked body.

But before we could do anything else, we heard an alarm coming from the bedroom. "What's that?" Troy asked, his head looking around even though we both knew it was coming from the bedroom. I sighed heavily, letting go of a disappointed groan. "It's the alarm clock." Troy's head fell forward against mine. "You finish up, I'll go take care of that," he offered, opening the shower door and reaching out to grab a towel. He stepped out of the shower, turning back to look at me. "And then I'll shower alone, because I will never get out of here if we don't shower separately." I giggled softly, but I was sure I was blushing immensely. "Ok," I barely spoke, watching as he wrapped the towel around his waist. I couldn't believe we were this comfortable with being naked in front of each other. I could easily be shy, but I knew it was Troy. He loved me and he wasn't going to be judgmental of the way I looked. And I thought he looked... heavenly. But he was right. Anymore thinking like that and we'd never get out of here. I rinsed the shampoo from my hair and reached for the conditioner. I tried to finish up quickly enough so Troy could shower next.

Stepping out of the shower, I found Troy there holding the towel open for me. "Your towel, m'lady." I smiled softly at him, stepping into the towel and letting him wrap it around me. "Thank you, dear sir!" He smiled, letting me take it from his grasp, tucking it under my arm. He leaned down, pressing his lips to mine, kissing me gently before standing up. "Ok, take your shower. I'm going to go get dressed." He nodded, rubbing my arm softly and I walked out of the bathroom to the bedroom. I hadn't had time to unpack yet, so I walked over to my suitcase and searched for something to wear. Settling on a purple summer dress, I pulled out a bra and some panties and zipped up my suitcase again, setting it near my closet. I still couldn't believe that Troy was going to be living here with me. It was exactly what I wanted but didn't think it was possible. I didn't know how we were going to make it work, but I knew once Troy set his mind to something, nothing changed it. I knew he'd make this work even if I had no idea how it could possibly work. But I wasn't going to doubt him. I knew he could do it. I got dressed and started to brush my hair when he came out of the bathroom, wrapped in his towel again.

"You look really good like that, Troy," I told him, trying not to let how I was really feeling, looking at him like this. He walked over to me, pressing his lips to mine gently. "No more thoughts like that this morning, baby," he growled. "We'll never get out of here." I almost didn't care. I was almost tempted to tell him to stay home today and go in tomorrow, but because of the summer honors program I had learned that if you're not in class the first day some professors automatically drop you from their classes. I didn't want the same to be true for Berkeley and for Troy to be kicked out of any of his classes. I didn't want to be dismissed from any of my classes either, but I was more worried about Troy. I didn't want him to be punished for not showing up for his classes just because we wanted to spend the day together. We had to go to our classes and we'd have the whole evening to spend with each other. "You're right, Troy," I smiled up at him, continuing to brush my hair back. "Why don't you get dressed and I'll go figure out breakfast." He nodded, leaning down and pressing his lips to mine once more. "I love you, baby." I smiled, rubbing his arm softly. "I love you, Wildcat." I walked down the hall brushing my hair as I walked toward the kitchen. I was excited for this. I knew we'd be able to get it to work and I wasn't worried about it at all.

We had breakfast and I had about forty-five minutes before my first class to begin. I'd spend every moment here with Troy if I knew exactly where the class was and if I was 100% ready mentally for the day, but I needed to get going so I had time to figure things out and get to class in plenty of time so I wasn't late. I locked the door behind us, dropping my keys in my bag and tugging it more on my shoulder. He took my hand and we walked down the few steps to the sidewalk and over to the truck. "Are you sure you don't want me to walk you to class? Or at least drive you over there?" Troy asked, after tossing his backpack in the truck, turning back to face me and wrapping his arms around my waist. "I'm sure. It's right across the street. I'll be fine. Besides, you've got a drive ahead of you and I don't want you late for your classes." He nodded, leaning down and kissing me slowly and lingeringly. He didn't want to leave anymore than I wanted him to leave, but we both knew we'd be together tonight, so we could get through it. Standing back up, he smiled down at me. "Have a good day. I'll call you at lunch time." I smiled, stepping back and letting him climb up into the truck. He pulled the door shut and started the engine, waving at me before pulling back out of the parking space under the carport. I waved at him, smiling softly at him as he drove out of the parking lot. Today was a good day and it was going to be followed by many more, now that I didn't have to live without him.


End file.
